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Superpowers

The Time Reavers Blog Tour Kicks Off!

September 21, 2017 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Time Reavers Audiobook Cover
Time Reavers is on its first audiobook blog tour, and thus far, the praise is flowing!
Dab of Darkness calls Time Reavers “a hell of a fun ride” with “great narration!” Meanwhile, The Literary Apothecary gives it 4.2 of 5 stars, and Macarons & Paperbacks is “impressed with [reader Tess Irondale]’s narrating skills.” (We agree. Her voices are magnificent!)
Links to all tour stops are posted below if you’d like to get in on the adventure – and even if you already know you love Time Reavers, there are plenty of reasons to follow. Many stops feature audio excerpts and interviews with Jacob, as well as a giveaway in which you could win a signed copy of the print edition, so go check them out!
Finally, a big thanks to Audiobookworm Promotions for arranging this tour. They’ve done a fantastic job putting everything together for us, and we couldn’t have asked for a better tour partner. 🙂
Read on for more reavery goodness!
Time-Reavers-Tour-Banner

Time Reavers Blog Tour Stops

September 20th
Dab of Darkness Audiobook Reviews (Review, Giveaway)
Lomeraniel (Review, Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
The Literary Apothecary (Review)

September 21st
Jazzy Book Reviews (Audio Excerpt, Interview, Giveaway)
Macarons & Paperbacks (Review, Interview, Giveaway)

September 22nd
It’s Novel to Me (Review, Author Interview)
Notes From ‘Round the Bend (Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)

September 23rd
Lynn’s Romance Enthusiasm (Audio Excerpt, Interview)
Blogger Nicole Reviews (Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Twisted Book Junkie (Review, Giveaway)

September 24th
Adventures Thru Wonderland (Review, Giveaway)

September 25th
Buried Under Books (Review)*

September 26th
The Book Addict’s Reviews (Review, Audio Excerpt, Interview)*
Pregnant, Barefoot, in the Kitchen (Review)*

*Specific links will be updated as posted by the individual blogs. Links last updated on September 24th, 2017.
***
Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: aliens, audiobook, blog tour, bugs, cyborgs, insects, robots, Superpowers, teens, tess irondale, Time Reavers, Urban Fantasy, ya, Young Adult

Charlotte – Anime Review

November 30, 2016 by hpholo 2 Comments

Jacob and I reached a point last month where we couldn’t take Crunchyroll‘s repetitive commercials anymore, so we sprung for a Premium membership. Since then, I’ve been using that as an excuse to fall asleep to the sweet, sweet sounds of anime.
My most recent binge has been Charlotte, which I watched primarily because I was curious what the title had to do with its premise of “teens with superpowers at a superpower school.”
charlotte
In the series, Yu Otosaka has the ability to take over other people’s consciousnesses. The catch? He can only do it for a few seconds at a time, and his own body loses consciousness while he’s out of it. Even so, it’s useful for things like cheating on tests and rising through the ranks of his school…which catches the attention of Nao Tomori. She’s the student council president of a school for students with similar abilities, and if he doesn’t come with her, there’s a significant chance he might be captured by another organization that has plans for people with superpowers – and they’re not good ones. With a threat like that – and a little sister to take care of – how could Otosaka turn her down?
The unique twist in the series’ premise is that all the teens’ powers will disappear after adolescence, and as powerful as they are, all their powers come with some pretty significant drawbacks. One character can turn invisible, but only to one person at a time; another can move at super fast speeds, but can’t control his stops – all of which, in a way, make the characters’ situations more unfortunate, not because of the inconvenience, but because people with torturous intents are hunting them for abilities that won’t even last.
That said, if you’re into superpowers and uncontrollable crying, Charlotte is a show for you.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB5qUxR6ch4&w=560&h=315]
As evidenced by the opening titles alone, the production value of the series is quite high. The studios that collaborated on it – Key, P.A. Works, and Aniplex – were also responsible for Angel Beats, which was gorgeous to watch, if a bit boring in spots. The animation and music are on par with that (even if the accent on the English singing is a little heavy), and are so infectious to experience that I’d have probably finished the series even if it was otherwise mediocre. Fortunately, it’s not.
Charlotte is a more character-driven show than one might expect, with the superpowers being a vehicle for a surprisingly emotional story. All the main characters are complex and flawed: Yu loves his little sis but isn’t very grateful for her own expressions of love; Nao is clever and determined to save teens like her, but also comes across as self-centered and self-righteous to the point where some other students beat her up for it. The first several episodes are fairly light, even goofy examinations of these relationships as these characters seek out a superpower-of-the-episode. Then comes Episode 6, where the plot takes an almost Madoka Magica-like turn, rips your heart out, and then sends it careening through the next seven episodes to the end. I was in no hurry to watch the first half of the series, but the last half I finished in a single, voracious sitting.
Strong characterizations aside, Charlotte‘s greatest strength is its sheer unpredictability. Sometimes this results in weird tonal conflicts: It’s hard to believe that the first episodes and intense last episodes are even part of the same series. Some of the humor even in the early part comes across as over the top, and some episodes (8 and 9 in particular) rely on an enormously convenient coincidence. However, the good parts are structured so well that those don’t diminish the entertainment value.
The only exception to this is the very end, which is so stupid that I sincerely wish I’d skipped the last episode. SPOILER ALERT: Without giving too much away, the characters decide that the best way to prevent anti-powers atrocities from happening is to remove superpowers from every teen in the world indiscriminately, which is an enormous waste of a rare and awesome resource – not to mention hugely unethical. Despite his righteous intent, one main character becomes famous in the international powered community as a power-stealing terror – and yet is still depicted as a good guy, complete with uplifting inspirational music and his own happy(ish) ending. I understand what the story was going for; after all, a lot of the kids were genuinely suffering because of their powers, often imprisoned in labs or camps specifically intended to exploit those powers. But when he took healing powers from an un-oppressed girl in a rural village – without her consent, all for the sake of completeness – the story lost its credibility.
TL;DR: You will do yourself a huge favor by ignoring the last episode entirely. The main arc wraps up in the previous episode, anyway, so you’ll literally miss nothing.
Final episode aside, Charlotte‘s still a pretty entertaining show. It’s not the best series I’ve watched this year, but it definitely deserves a watch if you enjoy both emotions and superpowers in your anime. Just skip the end – I mean it – unless you want to exercise your eye-rolling muscles.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Anime, Anime Review, Charlotte, Superpowers

The Sons of Liberty – Book Review

January 12, 2015 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Two escaped slaves get superpowers, team up with Ben Franklin, and wreak havoc on their corrupt former owner. This tells you all you need to know about The Sons of Liberty.
sonsoflibertycoverThis graphic novel, penned by Alexander and Joseph Lagos, is more National Treasure than history class, which is probably why it’s one of the most fun comics that I’ve read in a while.* Graham and Brody begin as slaves under the cruel Jacob Sorenson. When Sorenson’s son attacks Brody, Graham’s act of defense puts them both on the run, where they encounter Benjamin Franklin’s crazypants son, who has been electrocuting animals and, increasingly, slaves in effort to see what effect it has on their bodies. In this case, superpowers! (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.) The boys proceed to befriend Ben Franklin, who gives them work in his print shop, and Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay, who teaches them the African martial art of dambe and suggests that they use their newfound powers to right the wrongs slavery has inflicted upon the country.
Normally I’m irked by historical inaccuracy in books, but I make a gleeful exception for this one. After all, via Authors’ Note, the writers are pretty blatant about the historical inaccuracy (see again: superpowers), and most of the relevant inaccuracies are so ridiculous that they’re instantly noticeable. For example, while Benjamin Lay was truly eccentric and loudly anti-slavery (as depicted in the book) he also had a hunched back (as also depicted in the book), which logically seems like something that would interfere with the learning of most martial arts (not depicted in the book). William Franklin, too, is such an exaggeratedly despicable character that it’s hard to see anything that he does as historically-based (other than his strained relationship with his father, which was accurate). Such exaggerations permeate the book, from the fictional slave hunter who outfits his dog collars with foot-long spikes to a terrifyingly huge Hessian character who has no problem scalping a person with his bare hands. These are all the things of over-the-top action movies, which make it easier to suspend disbelief for this particular tale.
Graham and Brody, however, are decidedly non-exaggerated characters, which is what makes the story work so well. Most of the problems that they face in the story are problems that would be faced by any runaway slave—having to evade slave hunters, trying to find food without being conspicuous, worrying about the friends and family they left behind, etc.—and even once they acquire their powers, they react as one would expect teens in their situation to act—terrified at first, and then WHOA THESE POWERS ARE AWESOME. Surprisingly little of the story centers around their powers, too, but this is far from a flaw. Between Lay’s abolition efforts, Franklin’s conflict with William, William’s own several duplicities, and both of Graham and Brody’s conflicts (that is, hiding from Sorenson while learning to use their powers), there’s more than enough to keep the reader interested.
The writing itself zips between each storyline quickly, but never feels rushed. Dialogue is particularly well-handled, with several characters possessing their own unique styles of speaking. The art, too, is energetic, with smart use of color, expression, and character design, even if the lineart beneath the color occasionally looks too quickly-drawn. (It’s far from bad, but every now and then a character will look off-model. It’s not frequent enough to interfere with the reading experience, though.)
Ultimately, The Sons of Liberty is more concerned with entertainment than education. Considering that this was its goal in the first place, it does it with panache—so much so that it might even make readers interested in the true history behind the story! At its heart, it’s an exciting fantasy romp through pre-Revolutionary America, and highly recommended.
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*No offense to history teachers. Mine were magnificent, but I’ve had several teens refuse historical fiction because they say their history teachers ruined it for them.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Superpowers

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