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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A Bunch of Fables Reviews

The second of a bunch of reviews featuring a bunch of books. These reviews feature the Fables series of novels. For previous reviews I've written (and more in-depth analysis) check out this, this and this.

Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham

Two sentence plot summary: Bigby actually served in the army back during World War II, but of course, it wasn't like his military service was ordinary or anything. Snow is finally ready to have her baby, but when the mother is a magical princess and the father is The Big Bad Wolf, things are bound to be complicated.

Two sentence review: Loved Bigby's WWII story. Liked could hug it.

Fables: Homelands

Two sentence plot summary: Lovable Jack gets himself a job in Hollywood producing films about... Jack. Boy Blue travels back to the Homelands and discovers the Adversary's true identity.

Two sentence review: Jack, who fades out of the next few novels, gets a last (and very entertaining) big bang in this novel. Blue is even more my hero than before.

Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days)

Two sentence plot summary: When the Arabian delegation of fables arrives in Fabletown for talks about uniting against the Adversary, cultural misunderstandings, skulduggery and other sorts of shenanigans ensue. Anything can happen when there's a Weapon of Magical Destruction on the loose.

Two sentence review: With Bigby off on his own and Snow at the Farm, I thought I would have trouble getting into this novel. Turns out that Beast, Beauty, Prince Charming, Frau Totenkinder and the Arabian delegation make for an interesting enough mix that I barely noticed Bigby and Snow's absence.

Fables: Wolves

Two sentence plot summary: Mowgli, who has been in search of Bigby for quite a while, finds him at last. Will he finally make right with Snow?

Two sentence review: I like Mowgli and all.... but get me back to the Snow/Bigby plotline. And seriously... there are some random politics inserted into this novel (comparing Fabletown to Israel) that I find weird.

Fables: Sons of Empire

Two sentence plot summary: The Adversary plots the downfall of not only Fabletown but our entire planet as well. Bigby spends time with dear ole Dad and they try to put Bigby's seven previous assassination attempts on his life behind them.

Two sentence review: Santa Claus' existence is finally explained... he's a Fable, protecting earth from invaders at the North Pole. And I totally want to live in Wolf Valley.

Fables: The Good Prince

Two sentence plot summary: Being a lowly janitor and all, no one's ever given Flycatcher a second glance. Turns out he's Fabletown's last great hope of winning the war against the Adversary.

Two sentence review: If there was an award for best prominent turn-around from minor character to major big time plot-changing main character, Flycatcher would be the one winning it. I have this sudden urge to go kiss frogs.

5 comments:

Aaron said...

I recently got caught up on all the Fables trade paperbacks that had been released so far, which (to my surprise) took me through the end of the "Adversary/Homelands" story arc that had been running since the first issue of the series.

I (naturally) won't spoil anything, but it was terrific, and solidified in my mind just how amazingly good this series is. Not only does it make me want to read all these old fairy tales and nursery rhymes so I can understand some of the more obscure characters and references more completely, but it also has me eagerly awaiting what they do next with these characters.

Vasilly said...

This is one of my favorite series ever! The Good Prince is my favorite volume so far. I love Flycatcher. I sound like a groupie, don't I? =) Oh well.

Great reviews.

Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) said...

1) Thank you for reminding me about Fables. I stopped at Sons of Empire and I'm not sure why I haven't started again. I'm going to request them at the library right now.

2) I want to live in Wolfe Valley too. It looked like so much fun, and those wolf kids are so cute it's astonishing!

Anonymous said...

Another series I must catch up on having only read the first 4 and first Jack of Fables. I can't being myself to read your reviews in case I accidentally spoil any of the plot.

Kim L said...

aaron-yeah, i totally had to google some of the more obscure characters. I am really thinking of buying the series, although I rarely buy any books, especially graphic novels due to cost.

vasilly-I definitely heart flycatcher after reading that one. What a great novel!

Kim-totally. Wolf Valley sounds awesome!

rhinoa-well you need to read some more so we can discuss!