The War
by Garth Ennis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Originally published in Hello Darkness comics (and in Vol 1 & 2 collected trade paperbacks), I’ll admit I read War awhile back in parts; it gutted me then and today, re-reading it in its entirety cover to cover in this fully collected edition, I found it just as heart wrenching as the first time. Even knowing what happens, why Ennis is telling the story (to deter nuclear war!), and being wholly prepared for the horror I still put this down and went ‘damn’. The War is a bleak, honest look at scenarios experience by a group of friends (who all go different ways) knowing their city is about to be hit with the bomb.
The War is terrifying in its realism, lovingly tearful with genuine love, and all around horrific in how the world ends. If you are looking for happy endings you will find none here. And yet I love it. It’s sooo well done, and hits me (twice now) so hard that I can’t help but want to experience the genuine emotion on the page again and again. I believe, only the unique medium of a comic, with both words and art, could really bring this kind of a story to a place where you can’t help but flip the pages as you gasp, cry, and whimper at everything seen and heard.
Truly a masterpiece of storytelling and one I hope to only ever experience via printed media. At the end of it all this is a warning, a reminder of what fallout and an apocalypse really looks like. There’s no heroes to save you here, no obvious villains to blame; just the sheer stupidity of the human race and our (seemingly) rush to destroy ourselves and our planet. I want to both recommend AND warn everyone away from this shocking masterpiece. May we all, no matter our power, class, race, sexuality, or politics hope (pray?) we (and everyone who comes next) never EVER see a future of this kind.
While NetGalley and BOOM! Studios provided me an eARC (and this is an unbiased and honest review); I’ll confess that I already owned the single edition comics and trade paperbacks this was first published in.
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Stitching, reading and comics! All at epic proportions. From giant projects, thick books, and a lot of comics this is a chronicle of hobbies. Current counts: +1,300 physical books, +6,000 comics, +300 trade paperback comics, +300 stitching patterns!
Monday, March 2, 2026
Book Review: Outlaw Planet
Outlaw Planet
by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow!! I knew 35% of the way in this was shaping up to be an epic science fiction tome. What I didn’t know then was how beautifully Carey would bring everything together.
I’m told this is set in the same world as Carey’s duology (which I haven’t read but I’ve bumped up my list!!). Currently, I don’t feel like I missed anything by reading it as a stand-alone (which is how it’s being marketed). Be prepared for a very dense, high stakes, elaborate science fiction epic. While we don’t leave the planet, this world is both alien, yet familiar all at once. Carey did a brilliant job of making this feel like a place we know; yet one we are baffled by all the same.
The characters are what really makes this a glorious read. The plot is there, the action of a western, a touch of romance and lots of camaraderie; but at its core Outlaw Planet is about two people, our leading lady, Dog Bitch Bess, a scorned, angry, heart broken woman (for most of the book) who just wants the world to know it sucks. Our unknown stranger that shows up in logs at the end of each ‘part’ of the story is a mystery until very close to the end. And trust me you will not see this ending coming. It fits perfect; and yet predicting it is nigh on impossible as Carey has woven things together so well.
If I’ve ever thought a book was written backwards (author starting at the end and writing forward) it was this one. Every piece of the puzzle fits so perfect as you move forwards. Click the ‘click’ is happening only because the future knows what it is. I loved the journey of this epic and (intentionally) read it slowly so as to savour it. In fact I read it so slow I had to return my library copy and bought my own print one so I didn’t have to rush through! And rightfully so, this novel deserves a coveted place in my print library. I’ve even added it to my favourites just now (an elite list) as I’m confident it won’t be leaving me anytime soon (if ever!).
Carey and I have had some good reading times in short stories and Gifts was good. But Outlaw Planet has vaulted him to my ‘must read’ list. And now I need to catch up on the Koli trilogy and the duology attached to this book because I can’t not devour every word he has ever written!
All that praise aside please be cautioned. This is fairly hard science fiction with no chapters, instead 8 dense parts with few breaks. The technology is elaborate, the pieces you are given to start are confusing and meant to leave you unsure of what is going on. Trust the journey. But know it’s a slow, lengthy journey. If that’s not your kind of book that’s okay you can find another. But if you love an epic saga that knows what it is and wants to be so well you feel like it’s already a classic, then pick this beauty up and enjoy the time you spend with Dog Bitch Bess and her sentient gun Slim. Time is unforgiving; and you’ll want to spend some of yours in this world.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow!! I knew 35% of the way in this was shaping up to be an epic science fiction tome. What I didn’t know then was how beautifully Carey would bring everything together.
I’m told this is set in the same world as Carey’s duology (which I haven’t read but I’ve bumped up my list!!). Currently, I don’t feel like I missed anything by reading it as a stand-alone (which is how it’s being marketed). Be prepared for a very dense, high stakes, elaborate science fiction epic. While we don’t leave the planet, this world is both alien, yet familiar all at once. Carey did a brilliant job of making this feel like a place we know; yet one we are baffled by all the same.
The characters are what really makes this a glorious read. The plot is there, the action of a western, a touch of romance and lots of camaraderie; but at its core Outlaw Planet is about two people, our leading lady, Dog Bitch Bess, a scorned, angry, heart broken woman (for most of the book) who just wants the world to know it sucks. Our unknown stranger that shows up in logs at the end of each ‘part’ of the story is a mystery until very close to the end. And trust me you will not see this ending coming. It fits perfect; and yet predicting it is nigh on impossible as Carey has woven things together so well.
If I’ve ever thought a book was written backwards (author starting at the end and writing forward) it was this one. Every piece of the puzzle fits so perfect as you move forwards. Click the ‘click’ is happening only because the future knows what it is. I loved the journey of this epic and (intentionally) read it slowly so as to savour it. In fact I read it so slow I had to return my library copy and bought my own print one so I didn’t have to rush through! And rightfully so, this novel deserves a coveted place in my print library. I’ve even added it to my favourites just now (an elite list) as I’m confident it won’t be leaving me anytime soon (if ever!).
Carey and I have had some good reading times in short stories and Gifts was good. But Outlaw Planet has vaulted him to my ‘must read’ list. And now I need to catch up on the Koli trilogy and the duology attached to this book because I can’t not devour every word he has ever written!
All that praise aside please be cautioned. This is fairly hard science fiction with no chapters, instead 8 dense parts with few breaks. The technology is elaborate, the pieces you are given to start are confusing and meant to leave you unsure of what is going on. Trust the journey. But know it’s a slow, lengthy journey. If that’s not your kind of book that’s okay you can find another. But if you love an epic saga that knows what it is and wants to be so well you feel like it’s already a classic, then pick this beauty up and enjoy the time you spend with Dog Bitch Bess and her sentient gun Slim. Time is unforgiving; and you’ll want to spend some of yours in this world.
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