Books I Read in June 2025

Besides the short stories I wrote about in my previous post I read three books and three comic book trades this month.

Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber (Ace Books, 1970)

I finished my reread of the second Fafhrd and Gray Mouser book which I posted about here: We Learn by Writing: Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Book of the Month Club, 1994. Originally published in 1894)

While I enjoyed all the stories in this collection, a few in the beginning came across as weak compared to most of the later ones, which I found to be more interesting and complex. Still, it was great spending time with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson again and I loved the introductions of Sherlock’s brother Mycroft and Sherlock’s nemesis Professor Moriarity.

Brothers of the Snake by Dan Abbnet (Black Library, 2008)

After reading the Warhammer 40K anthology Into the Maelstrom recently, I was wondering what to read next, so I watched some YouTube videos that recommend 40K books for newcomers. This book showed up on a number of lists and sounded right up my alley. Like a lot of Black Library books, the paperback is out of print, but the Kindle version is available. 

Brothers of the Snake follows Priad of Damocles Squad, part of a Space Marine chapter known as the Iron Snakes, as they defend the Reef Stars against aliens and other agents of Chaos. Each chapter is basically a short story, but they all build upon each other which makes for a good mix of world building and character development. A very enjoyable read. I’ll be posting a longer review soon. 

Comics

Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1: Ronin (Fantagraphics Books, 1987)

Usagi Yojimbo (Rabbit Bodyguard) Volume 1 collects the early appearances of Stan Sakai’s anthropomorphic rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi, based on the historical figure Miyamoto Musashi. While the stories are primarily historical adventure, there’s humor as well as action and one of the stories includes a supernatural creature. They’re exciting and fun with wonderful art. 

I’ve been a fan since the character's first appearance in the 1980s. Somewhere along the line I stopped reading, but I kept buying the trade paperbacks as they were released. I finally decided to jump back in from the beginning. It was interesting revisiting these early stories as Sakai hadn’t quite settled on Usagi’s character design yet, but the situations and themes presented here are a great taste of what he explores even more deeply in later volumes.

Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 2: Samurai (Fantagraphics Books, 1989)

Most of this volume is devoted to telling Usagi’s origin story, how he goes from student, to samurai, to ronin. Also included are stories where he meets a kappa, a young kaiju, and helps defend a village of silk workers from bandits. A great mix of action and humor with a variety of interesting characters and excellent art.

Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 3: The Wanderer’s Road (Fantagraphics Books, 1989)

Seven more adventures as Usagi wanders Japan and meets some returning characters like the mercenary rhino Gen and the blind swordspig Zato-Ino. There’s also the introduction of the demon-like Jei, a tribute to Groo the Wanderer, and a quick crossover with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Some of the stories are dark, some are humorous, all are excellent.

Books I Read in February 2025

 Two books and one comic this month.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Book of the Month Club, 1994. Originally published in 1892)

Although I liked some of the stories more than others, I enjoyed reading about the characters and their adventures so much that I have to give this collection five stars. It's a big step up from the first two novels which I re-read a few years ago. I think Sherlock Holmes works best as short stories. Now I’m in the mood to re-watch the Granada TV series starring Jeremy Brett.

Into the Maelstrom edited by Marc Gascoigne & Andy Jones (Black Library/Games Workshop, 2000)

When I buy a book there’s no guarantee that I’ll get to it anytime soon. For example, I think I bought this anthology of stories set in the Warhammer 40K gaming universe around fifteen years ago! Well, I finally read it and enjoyed most of the stories. The 40K universe is a wild mix of military SF, dangerous aliens, bioweapons, psychic powers, and supernatural monsters. My favorite stories were by Alex Hammond, Barrington J. Bayley, Gav Thorpe, and William King. 

When I bought this, I picked up two Warhammer fantasy books as well. Now that I’ve finally jumped in, I’ll probably read more soon. Look for a more detailed review of this anthology next month. 

The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol.1 by Various (Titan Comics, 2025)

This collects the first three issues of Titan’s black & white magazine sized Conan comic. Besides the stories there’s a map, an essay, and pinups. I really enjoyed this even though I didn’t care for the art in the first story at all. I thought that it was so wildly inconsistent and so weirdly photoshop-like in places that it kept pulling me out of the story. On the other hand, I loved the combination of story and art in every single one of the other stories. I’ll definitely keep reading Savage Sword, but I’ll probably stick to the trades. 

Books I Read in April 2022

 “My interest in writing has been with me for as long as I can remember. My first work dates from when I was nine years old. A poem about my dog, if memory serves me. I grew up loving words and what they could do. I liked film too, and it has obviously influenced my work, but it was always the words that counted, and as I grow older, they count even more.” 

— Joe R. Lansdale from his introduction to Bestsellers Guaranteed. 

I read six books this month. 

A Study in Scarlet (1887) by Arthur Conan Doyle

Great introduction to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, 221B Baker Street, and an interesting mystery. I’d give this four stars but the long flashback to Utah towards the end really dragged and felt like a different book. 

I read this and some of the other volumes years ago so I know it gets better after this. 

The Sign of the Four (1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle

As in A Study in Scarlet, I enjoyed the interaction between Holmes and Dr. Watson as well as their investigation of the mystery. I also liked the introduction of Mary Morstan, the love interest for Dr. Watson. 

But just as in A Study in Scarlet, I enjoyed the first part much more than the last. The last chapter in which everything is explained dragged on. 

Storywise it’s an improvement over A Study in Scarlet, but I don’t think it reaches the greatness of the short stories that Arthur Conan Doyle would write after writing the first two novels. 

Piranesi (2000) by Susana Clarke

Piranesi lives in a labyrinth-like world composed of infinite halls and statues. The upper levels are filled with mists and birds. In the lower levels is an ocean which rises depending on the tide. 

We follow Piranesi as he keeps busy by investigating the halls and statues. He calls himself a scientist and takes meticulous notes in his journals. Then Piranesi starts discovering that not everything is as it seems. 

The story has a slow meditative pace but we learn something new in each chapter. 

In the beginning the world building drew me, afterwards the unfolding of the  mystery kept me reading. I also liked how Piranesi keeps a journal and how it turns out to be important to the story. 

Piranesi is a story of loneliness and solitude, but it’s also a hauntingly beautiful story of kindness and gratitude. 

The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories (1961) by Ernest Hemingway 

This is my second time reading this collection. Hemingway is one of my favorite writers. I like his prose. It’s smooth and clear. I also like the themes he covers like travel, wilderness, war, love, and loss. 

I liked every story in this collection but especially “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis MaComber.”

The Starmen of Lyrdis (1952) by Leigh Brackett

Michael Treehearne discovers that he is actually a member of the Vardda, the only race that can withstand the rigors of intergalactic flight.

Leigh Brackett is one of my favorite authors but this was slow going. Even though the chapters are short and Brackett’s prose shines in some places, the story is dry, lackluster, and has some jarring plot contrivances. It has a few interesting ideas but it’s missing the wonder and excitement of much of her other work.

Bestsellers Guaranteed (1993) by Joe R. Lansdale

I’ve been wanting to read something by Joe R. Lansdale for a while. I figured I’d start with this collection of early short stories and a novella. While most of the stories are horror stories the last two are more crime noir. One story was too surreal for me (“Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland”) and one story was just too dark for me (“The Job”) but I enjoyed the heck out of all the others. The stories range from quiet horror to humorous to just plain dark. 

Favorite stories: 

“The Dump” 

“God of the Razor”

“Not From Detroit”

“The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance.” 

My favorite story in the collection is the novella, “The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance.”  A man down on his luck, his daughter, and the owner of a used bookstore investigate a possible murder. This East Texas gothic was a real page turner with great characters.

I liked the variety of stories, the author’s introduction, and the story introductions. In them he gives lots of interesting details about his influences and how the stories came about, without giving away any plot details.

I’ll finish with a passage from his introduction that really spoke to me. It’s about his reading interests and how they influenced his writing.

  “I read everything from fairy tales to books on lost civilizations to adventure to the classics to comics, especially “Batman” and “Detective Comics.” I had no idea that one type of fiction or non-fiction was supposedly better for me than another. I think this is one of the most fortuitous things about my career. Ignorance.

I read what appealed to me, not what was supposed to be good for me. That being the case, it was only natural that I would gradually mix genres, and eventually run them through the mental strainer of my East Texas experience to arrive at the sort of stories that appeared in By Bizarre Hands, and the sort of stories I write now. These are among the best of the stories I wrote on the way to that destination. I like to think it was a pretty good trip, and that I’ll be starting a new trip soon, branching out from what I do now, going yet another mile and finding new passions, new stories.”

I’m looking forward to reading more by Joe Lansdale.