As you might know, I also read comics. One of my favorite comics is Fables, which follows a community of well-known (and lesser-known) characters from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, myth and Americana as they try to live life in our "mundy" world while hiding their special abilities from those of us without (hmmm... mundies are muggles?). The comic has been going for several years, and has spun off another series, Jack of Fables. And now, Bill Willingham has written a novel set in the world of Fables.

This novel follows what happens when Peter Piper, in our modern mundane world, has to deal with the results of his relationship with his brother, Max, the Pied Piper. Interspersed in the modern story is the back story of Peter, his wife Bo Peep, the Black Forest Witch, Max, the town of Hamelin, and more. Willingham shows that he is just as good at novel writing as he is at writing for comics.

The book is (lightly) illustrated by Steve Leialoha. The black-and-white illustrations, while not necessary in the story as they would be in a graphic novel, still add to the telling.

This book could be read by any reader who likes imaginative fiction set in a world similar to our own. You don't have to be familiar with the Fables universe, and this might even get you to consider taking a look at the comic.

This is more of a "classic" entry for me. Sometimes I am just not in the mood to read a new book, and pick up an old one. This past week, after cleaning off some of my bookshelves, I found my Mercedes Lackey books tempting me.

Currently, I am thoroughly enjoying the podcast series "The Secret World Chronicle" by Ms. Lackey and Steve Libbey. Although sporadically posted, the episodes are great. For the most part, they are well-recorded and edited, and the reader does a really great job (Veronica Giguere does most of the narration).

But my introduction to Ms. Lackey's writing came through her Valdemar books, starting with the "Heralds of Valdemar" series, including "Arrows of the Queen," "Arrows Flight" and "Arrows Fall". Now, I'd probably classify this as YA fantasy. Some of the other Valdemar books, not so much YA. This series (which I have in a single volume from SFBC) is one I reread every few years. It is a really great coming-of-age story about Talia, a young girl from the back country who is Chosen to be a Herald, and learns how to deal with the trials, tribulations and politics of her new world.

So, once I reread this last week, I had to continue on to "By The Sword," which is a sort-of sequel. The first part of this book follows the story of another young girl, in a neigboring kingdom, who choses to follow the career path of mercenary fighter, and how her decisions ultimately bring her to Valdemar, and into the sphere of the heralds (and the reader gets to see an older Talia, too).

I won't go on and reread the next books. I admit that they didn't grab me as much as these first ones did. But other of Ms. Lackey's books are also well worth a read. But since I haven't reread them lately, I won't comment on them now.