Death | Raging Biblio-holism

Good Omens

March 23, 2015 by Drew

The Short Version: The world was created. This is generally regarded as an only so-so idea – but the end is coming! The Antichrist is born unto… an utterly ordinary human family (thanks to a clerical mixup with the babies). And one angel & one demon, friends over the millennia, decide that maybe we don’t need the end of days to happen – but they’ve gotta find the kid first. Hijinks ensue. The world, such as it is, goes on. The […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature • Tags: Angels, Apocalypse, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Death, Demons, etc, Fantasy, Fiction, Good Omens, Humor, Literature, Magic, Neil Gaiman, Re-Reads, Religion, Reviews, Terry Pratchett, Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, The Devil, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, Witches

The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death

March 7, 2014 by Drew

The Short Version: In 2011, novelist/Twitterer/notable citizen of Anhedonia Colson Whitehead was staked to play in the World Series of Poker by Grantland. This is his story – a story of poker, of beef jerky, and of uproariously dry wit. (…I don’t think anyone actually dies in the course of the book.) The Review: Some might say I’m going about Colson Whitehead all wrong. I saw him speak before I read a word of his prose… and then I read his […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Advance Review, Beef Jerky, Book Reviews, Books, Colson Whitehead, Death, Journalism, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Poker, Reporting, Reviews, The Noble Hustle

Brief Lives (The Sandman, Vol. 7)

January 5, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Delirium of The Endless decides to seek out her lost brother, Destruction. After Desire and Despair turn her down, she seeks out the help of her older brother Dream – and they embark on a strange journey through the world and through themselves in order to find their missing sibling. The Review: There’s a panel near the end of this novel that took my breath away, much as the real-life equivalent tends to do the same. On an […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature • Tags: Brief Lives, Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, Destruction, Dream, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Literature, Mythology, Neil Gaiman, The Endless, The Sandman, The Sandman Vol. 7

Season of Mists (The Sandman, Vol. 4)

January 3, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Lucifer abdicates his throne in Hell and closes up shop, giving the keys to Morpheus – who is then beset by emissaries from just about every pantheon (except the Greeks), asking to be given control of Hell. Lucifer heads to the beach. The Review: I get the sense that, when Mr. Gaiman came up with all of these plots, he was laughing. Again, not out of any particularly funny thing… but out of enjoyment. Lucifer on the Australian […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Literature • Tags: Death, Dream, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Horror, Literature, Morpheus, Mythology, Neil Gaiman, Season of Mists, The Endless, The Sandman, The Sandman Vol. 4

Dream Country (The Sandman, Vol. 3)

January 2, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Four short stories, essentially – all tangentially involving Morpheus and The Endless. Stories about writing and creation, about the faces we put on to face the world and synthesize our thoughts… stories about our dreams. The Review: An interesting pause in the ongoing story (which seemed like it was just revving up) of Morpheus, the Dreamlord. We get some interesting background again here as well as another dalliance with the superhero canon – but the real coup […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Death, Dream, Dream Country, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Literature, Morpheus, Neil Gaiman, Shakespeare, Short Stories, The Endless, The Sandman, The Sandman Vol. 3

Preludes and Nocturnes (The Sandman, Vol. 1)

January 2, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Dream, the spiritual embodiment of, well, dreams, is captured and locked away on Earth for seventy years. When he is freed, he must reclaim the sources of his power in order to rebuild the Dreamworld. The Review: A friend of mine expressed her absolute astonishment at my confession: I’d never read any of Neil Gaiman’s comics work. She urged me then and there to use a generous Christmas gift (given with the caveat that I must […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Death, Dream, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Horror, Morpheus, Neil Gaiman, Preludes and Nocturnes, Superheroes, The Endless, The Sandman, The Sandman Vol. 1

Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Tag: Death