wildestranger | (no subject)

I've been thinking of doing book reviews on this journal for a long time. Mostly because reading is what I do, not only frightening amounts of fanfiction although clearly yes, that too, but also published novels, from contemporary to eighteenth-century and sometimes beyond, and philosophy and history and in short, just many, many things. Talking about these books seems like something that should come easy for me; it's what I do professionally, after all, as well as what I do for fun.

Yet, I am very lazy. *g*

So, a year after I first decided to start posting book reviews on my journal, behold! The first one is here. And I'm thinking that writing these things is a way of relaxing my brain, something worth doing yet not required for work purposes, something not quite as frivolous and pleasure-inducing as porn. Something to keep my mind keen and my words supple. Hopefully. :

Mike Carey et al: Lucifer: Morningstar

And there shall be spoilers, so be careful if you care.

I started reading the Lucifer comics in summer 2005, after seeing discussions and comments and fic on

musesfool's journal (So the one I blame for this particular addiction is she). Lucifer is a very charming man, and very sarcastic with his charm, which, as you should know, is what does it for me. *g*

Morningstar is the tenth in the series and brings to climax the rather epic battle that has been brewing for the last few books. One of the things I love about this series is the fact that it mixes so many different mythologies (And all hail Neil Gaiman for starting it, and this), and in this particular text we find Jewish/Christian mythology, Nordic, Greek and a few others I don't recognise (Arabic? Maybe). It's one thing to pile them all up so that they'll look pretty, and quite another to make them work, and here they do, for plot, for characterisation, for creating a world that is whole and complicated. For an easy example, one of the things I most enjoy is Lucifer reminding everybody, and the angels in particular, that Fenris is coming, because it shows that as maintainers of one world view they will only remember and consider their own mythology, whereas Lucifer, being the kind of guy he is, is aware of everything else. There are power games being played between every divinity in every pantheon, which is a delightful thing by itself, but which is made all the more fascinating by Lucifer's presence. The arrogance he displays is attractive and interesting (and yes, this is one of the main reasons I like him), and the fact the we don't ever get to see inside Lucifer's head keeps him sufficiently unpredictable.

I like the fact that every comic is told from a different point of view, and that none of them are Lucifer's, so we get to see various interpretations of his behaviour as well as different sort of action. There is marvellous energy in this series, with all the competing agendas and voices, separate stories that eventually connect with the main plotline. There is depth and complexity in this story, in addition to the delicious sarcasm of the protagonist, that makes it worth reading, that makes it epic in a way few things are.

The last battle has all you might ask for in an epic burst of excitement: long delays and frustration, surprise attacks from new or forgotten characters, a few moments of bonding and breaking and always a few moments of sarcasm. I love the look Duma gives to Lucifer when he hears that he has killed Michael, the reproachful sadness, and the fact that Lucifer seems to care about what Duma thinks of him. And Jill Presto telling her child that she wants to keep her feelings even if they are unhappy. And Elaine Belloc's gradual understanding of what she must do and what she must lose to do it.

Morningstar is enjoyable, as all books in this series are, and more intense and dramatic than most. I think there's still one more to go (Did Mike Carey say he's going to finish at 75 or did I get that wrong?) and this one has made me very curious about what will happen next. Which, for one, is a sign of a well-written text.