Review: Nhun the Huntress

Art & Text by Firat Yasa

Published by Europe Comics
Available May 15, 2019
ISBN 9791032808306
Ebook $8.99 USD

Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

I liked this graphic novel but not everyone will. Unless you've studied prehistoric hunter-gatherer cultures and the impacts of the transition to agriculture, Nhun the Huntress might not make much sense. It was a very quick read; out of about 75 pages there were only 15 to 20 pages with any dialogue at all.

This story takes place around 9,000 years ago in what is now southeast Turkey. Nhun, the protagonist, is a hypothetical huntress who leads her band of fellow hunter-gatherers. In this time and place people were just beginning to settle down, cultivate crops and raise animals, while most people were still living life on the move, gathering, fishing and hunting.

The artwork is stylized to look like the prehistoric paintings of the early Neolithic. While I loved the modernized "ancient" aesthetic, it was just a bit too busy and monochromatic. I also really appreciated the Goddess symbols that kept popping up – snake, bear, leopard, owl, etc.

The framing could have been better used to support the story. The largest frames should be reserved for the most important moments, or to convey scale. Most of the important moments were spread out over rows and rows multiple small frames. There was also no verticality to break up the pages.

Nhun's tribe travels to trade with the people of Çatal Höyük, one of the earliest settlements in human history. One of the male elders says he's tired of wandering and wants to settle down. Then the tribe could multiply and prosper. A female elder wants to maintain their way of life. She argues that settling down leads to war, social inequity, and people thinking they "own" the land.

The root of this debate is whether to abandon a way of life that keeps people in balance, with the earth and each other, or adopt a new way of life that offers more to fewer people. The transition requires a shift from a mostly egalitarian society to a mostly patriarchal society.

While I love the idea of comic books set in the Meso- and Neolithic, I don't know that this one conveyed the story it was trying to tell very well. It was slow in places, and without giving any kind of historical context the average person might end up a little confused.

Archaeologists, anthropologists, and other students of prehistory will really appreciate it. Everyone else though could be lost. Still, Nhun the Huntress is a unique and important artistic interpretation of a critical point in time for humanity.

This review was based on a free digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion

Coming Review: "Nevers"

I've just received my newest free ebook, Nevers, by Sara Cassidy from NetGalley (in exchange for an honest review). I was drawn to this Middle Grade fiction book primarily because of the cover (shown to the right). What made me hit "Request this Book," was the description from the publisher, Orca Book Publishers:

"Resourceful fourteen-year-old Odette is on the move again, traveling as a stowaway on a cheese cart with her hapless mother, Anneline. They are in Burgundy, France, in 1799, fleeing yet another calamity caused by Anneline (who is prone to killing people accidentally).

At dawn they find themselves in a town called Nevers, which is filled with eccentric characters, including a man who obsessively smells hands, another who dreams of becoming a chicken, and a donkey that keeps the town awake at night, braying about his narrow life.

As Odette establishes a home in an abandoned guardhouse, she makes a friend in the relaxed Nicois and finds work as a midwife's assistant. She and Nicois uncover a mystery that may lead to riches and, more important for Odette, a sense of belonging."

Nevers is expected to be published September 3, 2019 under ISBN 9781459821637 for $10.95 CAD

Coming Reviews: Summer 2019

I'm blessed with books! But there's a catch; I've fallen behind in my reviewing. Perhaps if I post the most recent books I've RFR (received for review), I'll be more likely to follow-up with some actual reviews! Eventually. We'll see :) Here goes:


FANTASY
Mischief and Mayhem: Part I of the Faerlands Chronicles
by Sam Nicholson, Koehler Books

available: May 24, 2019
free ebook for review from Netgalley

I'm really excited about this one! I have high hopes for the first of a new series, The Faerlands Chronicles. From the publisher:

"After lying dormant for centuries, a dark presence awakes and invades the realm of the Faers. While malicious forces quietly stir in the southern nation of the Meadows, Ophelia Maplewood, along with her companions from the Woodland Scouts, finds an unexpected human, new strength, and allies in the north. Will their journey bring balance to the homeland and prevent chaos from spreading to the other realms? Only time will tell."

NON-FICTION: MEMOIR
Is There Still Sex in the City?
by Candace Bushnell, Grove Press

expected publication: August 6, 2019
free ARC for review from publisher

The long-awaited follow-up to Sex in the City, I got this paperback ARC from the publisher. I've never read the original book that inspired the HBO show of the same name, but I love the show!

I can't wait to read how it all worked out for Candace Bushnell (AKA Carrie Bradshaw), everyone's favorite Manhattan sex sociologist.

NON-FICTION: SCIENCE
What Science Is and How It Really Works
by James C Zimring, Cambridge U Press

expected publication: September 30, 2019
free ebook for review from Netgalley

The world really needs this book right now. Just in the first chapter Dr. Zimring expresses what I've struggled for years to convey to my friends and family. That "science" wasn't always science. That science is rarely portrayed accurately in pop culture. And perhaps most importantly, that:

"Understanding the basis for scientific claims and judging how much confidence we should place in them is essential for individual choice, societal debates, and development of public policy and laws."

FANTASY: URBAN
The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller
by Lucy Banks, Amberjack Publishing

expected publication: September 3, 2019
free ebook for review from Netgalley

I requested this book because of the tarot-related title. Lucy Banks is the author of Dr. Ribero's Agency of Supernatural detective series and this is her first book outside those tales. While I haven't read her Detective books, I've heard good things about them.

I look forward to reading this book that promises to be "a layered and poignant mystery of family, lost love, and generational trauma."

100 Amazing Facts About the Negro

by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Pantheon Books
Hardcover, 496 pages
ISBN 9780307908711
Published October 24, 2017

This eminently readable book is an expanded update on the 1934 classic by the same name. The story of the original author, Joel A. Rogers, is as inspiring and interesting as the other facts! The people, facts and stories in this book aren't just interesting, they're often uplifting, and always fascinating.

In addition to reintroducing us to the Roger's great research and writing, Dr. Gates explores the African-American experience through solid scholarship.

Extremely well researched but still totally engaging, I highly recommend this book. Readers will come away with an appreciation for just how complex and varied the African-American experience was and is.

This review was based on a digital Advance Readers Copy from Knopf and NetGalley.

I'm Back!

After a LONG hiatus due to cancer, I'm finally back and ready to review. I've read so many great books this past year and I hope to able to review a few here. I'm excited to get back to reviewing books!

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea
by Ellis Weiner

Chronicle Books
Hardcover, 232 pages
ISBN 0811866793
Ages 9 and up
Releases August 15, 2012


I read a lot of good to great children's literature. The Templeton Twins Have an Idea by Ellis Weiner qualifies as neither. The characters are flat and predictable, the plot is wafer-thin, there is no sense of setting, theme, or tone. And what some critics call "sarcastic wit" is little more than one writer's desperate attempt to be liked by the cool kids.

In a nutshell, the story is this: two kids are kidnapped and held hostage so their father will sign over the rights to his invention to a delusional ex-student. They "oh-so-cleverly" escape and proceed to find their father and foil the kidnappers.

My question is this: Who includes instructions for solving Cryptic crossword puzzles in a book? And seriously, who adds a full and complete meatloaf recipe to a kid's story? Why are these here? They add nothing and they disrupt everything, bringing the entire story to a grinding, screeching, halting "Huh? What the ...?"

The worst part of this book? An arrogant, patronizing narrator who keeps running off topic then saying, "Let's move on," as though you're the one holding things up. Here are a couple of quotes from the narrator so you get just how annoyingly rude (s)he is.

"Forgive me, but I'm sure you wouldn't be capable of thinking up something as clever as that."

"I don't expect you to know what that idea was. You would have to be even more intelligent than I am to be able to guess what John's scheme was. And I think the odds of that being the case are rather small, don't you?"

How much more patronizing and self-congratulatory can a narrator be? It's as if, all in one book, the author was trying too hard while simultaneously acting like he's doing you a favor by writing the book. The only saving grace of this book are the quirky, charming illustrations by Jeremy Holmes. These make the book worth at least a flip-through at your local store.

My advice: Don't waste your time. Don't waste your children's time. Pick up a copy of Fablehaven or Chomp instead.

Mystery on the Moors

Beneath the Shadows
by Sara Foster

St. Martin's Press
Hardcover, 320 pages
ISBN 978-0-312-64336-2
Mystery / Literary Fiction
Published June 5, 2012

A quaint cottage in a charming North Yorkshire village – sounds pleasant, doesn’t it? That’s what new mother Grace thought when she and husband Adam left hectic London behind for life on the moors. A week later, Adam is missing and Grace’s life is derailed. One year later, we follow her on a journey of self-discovery as she unearths the truth about Adam’s disappearance.

Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster is a modern Gothic mystery, complete with black hounds, ghosts, and spooky landscapes. Foster weaves an entertaining and intriguing, if understated, tale that keeps her readers guessing until the very end.

This review was written based on a Kindle eBook Advanced Readers Copy of this book.