blairconrad's reviews
1124 reviews

Weaker text than I was hoping for - not up to Gaiman's usual standards. The illustrations, however, made the book. Mckean's pictures were absolutely beautiful - detailed and evocative. They more than complemented the text - as far as I'm concerned, they became the focal point. I especially liked the bear.

Some very interesting concepts, and for the most part well-presented. I enjoyed learning about much of the reasoning behind the public's fears of the Blank Slate, and Pinker's rebuttals. I did find, though, that the book dragged at times, and there was a great deal of repetition, so I kept thinking "Get on with it!". Also, while most of the "hot button" topics at the end were interesting, some had a tenuous connection at best. "The Arts"? Really?

Some of the phrasing was novel, but there just wasn't enough substance there to really engage me. Decent pictures.

Good, although falls short of [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg]'s best. The biggest shortcomings - uninteresting characters, and the plot quickly became boring after the initial stages. I know, that doesn't sound like a good book. The thing is the setting! The paired cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma are one of the most interesting backdrops for a story that I've encountered in years. Really, it's more than that - they are the story and the characters. Miéville's done an unbelievable job crafting these locales, their shared history, and the laws governing their co-existence, and it's a joy to read about, so much so that the veneer of characters and plot laid overtop fade to unimportance.
Read this book just to meet the cities, and it'll be time well spent.

Cute. Not as endearing as [a:Terry Moore|8914|Terry Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1241895023p2/8914.jpg]'s run, but a pretty good stage-setting. Honestly, I was hoping for a little more Peter in the first portion, but it was important to introduce MJ and the gang as people in their own rights, and the story did that. Probably not the sort of thing I'd've looked at if it weren't for the fact that the characters had a history, but I enjoyed it.

Really, there was nothing here for me. I'm not familiar with most of the characters, or with Alpha Flight (I'd read an issue or two a long time ago), but liked the title and so I picked it up at the library. Muddled and confusing story, with muddled and confusing art, most of which is fight scenes.