Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona is the printed published version of a popular webcomic by Noelle Stevenson, who goes by the screenname Gingerhaze online. While Stevenson dabbles in webcomic presentations of multiple types (stand-alones, multi-pannel, fanart, etc.) Nimona was a serial webcomic that she started posting in June of 2012 while attending Maryland Institute College of Art. It doubled as her senior thesis. It was published as a book earlier this year, in May 2015.
Nimona follows the story of a disgraced knight turned mad scientist, Lord Ballister Blackheart, and his feisty shape-shifting sidekick, Nimona in their quest to overthrow the government through the means of supervillany--all the while being pursued by Blackheart's former friend and now nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. Through the course of the story the alliances and moral codes of the two men begin to warp as secrets, cover-ups, and conspiracies begin to come to light, and the increasingly nefarious government desperately attempts to capture Nimona, who becomes more violent and unstable as the story progresses, causing both Blackheart and Goldenloin to question both their motives and alliances (respectively) as well as reevaluating their long-standing rivalry.
In a mash-up of both fantasy and science fiction genres, Nimona overturns the traditional good-guy/bad-guy dichotomy and in doing so adds an element of realism that often is absent from many fairytale type stories. By presenting both sides as neither strictly good or strictly evil, the characters are more approachable and more easily identified with, rather than just being caricatures of good and evil. I also think that incorporating both magic and science into the world setting makes the world more believable and easily imagined, and raises so many discussion points about how magic and science intertwine and coexist without marginalising one or the other. Indeed, this is something that I always wanted to see addressed in the Harry Potter universe (in an official canon capacity) but thusfar has only been addressed in speculation on internet forums. Stevenson brings these ideas to life in her comic.
I really enjoyed Nimona, it definitely is a storyline that I would love to see continued if Noelle Stevenson ever decides to continue the story in a sequel. In the meantime, I will definitely enjoy following her other webcomics, her fanart doodles and blog entries on her Tumblr, and her contributions to the ongoing graphic novels The Lumberjanes.
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson is available at the Ocean City Free Public Library.

Fault Lines by Nancy Huston

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2008, Fault Lines takes an interesting narrative approach and follows four generations of a family counter-chronologically. Family secrets start to unravel as each generation's character is revealed. We first meet 6 year old Sol, a coddled spoiled brat of a character, as he and his family are on a trip to Germany to revisit a long-lost relative. Huston then introduces the reader to the other generations; his father Randall, grandmother Sadie, and great grandmother Erra. As each character's story unfolds, you can see how each narrative weaves into one. The last section, which centers on Erra, is the most eye-opening one and is the final piece of the novel's puzzle. I don't want to say much more because it'd be giving too much away, but suffice it to say, it's a pretty intense (and sad) read.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

A short but very moving tale about a man who uncovers the awful truth about a former lover. Michael is 15 when he first meets Hanna, who is 36. Despite the creepy age difference, the two become lovers, though Michael is far more captivated by the mysterious and distant Hanna than she is to him. Their affair is all too brief and one day, Hanna just disappears. Years later, Michael unintentionally sees Hanna as the defendant when he is observing a court case for law school. As Michael slowly learns about Hanna's horrible past, he must struggle to accept the question - if he loves (or loved) a monster, what does that make him? There is redemption in the end, but it's very bittersweet. And of course, they made a movie out of this one. If the weather is decent, perhaps I'll go see it this weekend - Kate Winslet is supposed to be fabulous.

"A Banquet of Consequences" by Elizabeth George

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley mystery series is probably one of my favourites in the style of English detective stories. It's the series that I keep returning to, when I slip into a reading rut and can't focus on reading something new, particularly to the first book in the series A Great Deliverance. While there are lots of decent mystery series circulating now, the first book in George's Lynley stories has a certain grim insistence about it that keeps drawing me back to it. And in her latest contribution to the series, George has written a story that in many aspects parallels her first--however, these parallels did not become immediately apparent until the climax of the story. One of the things that I like best about Elizabeth George's writing is that she realises that a lot of times, the supporting characters can have better story potential than the main title character. She uses this to her advantage in almost all of the Lynley seri...

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