Hello all,

I have been in a fantasy/sci-fi book club I started for four years this December.  Saying that, I am always trying to find the next new "it" author or series.  Saying that, I do read quite a bit (although not as much as I used too since I started playing Oblivion on the PS3) and have a health queue waiting for me at home.

I guess I want to know what is out there I am missing?

What have you read recently that is amazing.  I say this because although I read quite a bit, I rarely come across something that is truly a masterpiece of literature.  As someone that loves to read, I am always looking for that next great book to pick up. 

What I have read recently that fits in this category?

The Watchment by Alan Moore
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

These two novels were both truly amazing and I felt better for reading them.  The Watchment because of how dark and disturbing a world that was created and The Name of the Wind because of the elegance of the writing. 

So what is the last "amazing" book you have read?

Book 23. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 2. By Alan Moore graphic novel 
228 pages 



In this story, we are being invaded by Martians and it is up to the League to put a stop to it!

In my previous post of Vol 1, I had mentioned that Alan Moore had some "issues".

That did not change upon reading the 2nd volume. The problem was, in the first volume it did nothing to derail the story. That was not the case in the second volume. I felt detatched from this story with the graphic violence and nudity in the novel. I am not a pure soul by any means, but for some reason nudity in this form does nothing for me. I am sure that is not the case for other people, but this is my review, damn it. :)

What was good about the story was the continued character development of some of the characters. Moore does a good job of understand why most of the characters are the way they are. That is not easy to do in something so small, but there are times where he is pure genious (especially in The Watchmen).

The plot was very hokey, and that may have been intentional. But it was not as interesting as the 1st volume.

Because of some of the things that bothered me about this novel, my rating is quite a bit lower.

Rating. Average, average, average.

Book 22. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Vol 1. graphic novel
176 pages 

God, Alan Moore has issues.

Don't get me wrong, I am ok with that for the most part. I did love the Watchmen. My review of the Watchmen. It is just that his graphic novels are so disturbingly violent that I don't think they are for everyone. It will make some people just put it down and look for something else to read. But those who don't mind how violent they are, will more than likely enjoy this graphic novel.

I am new to this type of novel and I am really enjoying them. My only reference to this was the movie they made starrting Sean Connery. What a difference! I thought the movie was "ok", and most people I have talked too have thought the same. Not horrible (except from a few people), but definately not good. So, I was excited to read this and see what was what.

Overall, the graphic novel was pretty good. The characters were interesting and had a lot of depth, and the plot was very straight forward in its execution. Definately a contrast from what you saw in the movie (which they obviously toned down), which you woul expect. There was also a story at the end starring Allan Quartermain, which was ok, but not worth going too much into.

My rating. Amazingly good read.

The Watchmen by Alan Moore Graphic novel/book club book
416 pages