#13: Joss Whedon et al, Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale

[kareila]

This is a short graphic novel that promises to fill in Shepherd Book's backstory, but it's only a series of vignettes laid out in reverse chronological order, hopscotching through his checkered past. It's an interesting idea, but I think the story would benefit from a more conventional treatment. There's still a lot left unsaid here.

#14: Seanan McGuire, Discount Armageddon (Incryptid #1)

[kareila]

This is a pretty standard post-Buffy urban fantasy of the "monsters are out there, but some of them are friendly" variety. The hero is kind of like a Slayer without mystic powers who comes from a family of reformed monster hunters ("cryptozoologists") and has some odd - as in, nonhuman - adopted relatives. When she's not kicking the requisite amount of ass and falling in love with the designated bad boy, she waits tables in a strip club, lives with a colony of religious mice, and pursues a career in competitive ballroom dancing. It's not altogether terribly plausible, but the more outrageous elements help it to stand out from the crowd. I thought it was a fun read.