Friday, January 28, 2011

Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil & Kaja Foglio

Agatha H and the Airship CityAgatha H and the Airship City by Phil Foglio

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've recently discovered--and become a fan of--the Foglios Girl Genius comics, doing so just before the release of the first novelization of the series was a nice bit of fortuitous timing.

There's a part of me that wonders if they've been wasting their time, the Foglios have a wonderful, playful way of using their words. Certain phrases, sentences, and even whole paragraphs are filled with a whimsy that just makes me smile. Little things like:

"Now I am in control!" He followed this statement with a burst of laughter that showed the owner had done a fair share of gloating in his time, and had the basics down pat.

If you've read the comics, you're not going to find a lot new here--they fill out some details here and there, spell out some things that the reader had to assume, that sort of thing. I honestly don't know if someone who hadn't read at least some of the comics could visualize the clanks, airships, Jägermonsters, etc. That's the closest I can come to a negative to point out about this novel.

Full of laughs, romance, adventure, strong (and smart!) female characters, this is one fun read. Bring on the further adventures of Agatha and co.!



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2 comments:

Steve Berven said...

Have you read any Charles DeLint? As far as urban fantasy goes, I really like his style. It's mystical without traveling down the vampire/warlock road much.

Hobster said...

He's been on my "to read" list for over a year now, and I haven't found/made the time for it yet.

You have a recommendation for a good starter?