Lazarus, Vol. 4: Poison by Greg Rucka, Michael Lark (Illustrator), Owen Freeman (Cover Artist)

Lazarus, Vol. 4: Poison by Greg Rucka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The tentative truces between the Families are crumbling, in the wake of the concave and the attempted assassination of the Carlyle scion. Outright war in certain contested territories has broken out, and the Carlyle family's holdings are at risk in a war with another family. Forever, the Lazarus of the Carlyle family goes with selected army recruits to reclaim control. Forever is the draw of this series for me. She is a fearless warrior who fights for her family, but follows her conscience. But she's not the only hero in this book. The people who are considered serfs by the families are heroes and warriors in their own right.

While it's clear that there are good people who are entrenched in this horrible system of lands and people owned by few people who control all the resources. Whose lives seem to mean nothing, but are used as collateral or for what they can provide the family.

I believe this volume examines the whole feudal system, and how their power games eventually become destabilized. They feel safe in their ivory towers, and perhaps they are for a while, but eventually, all things come to an end. And they bring everyone else down with them. But in the meantime, they'll continue to play their game of chess on a massive scale.

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Low, Vol.1: The Delirium of Hope by Rick Remender, Greg Tocchini (Illustrator)

Low, Vol. 1: The Delirium of Hope by Rick Remender
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the story of hope that never fades. Even in the face of the unimaginable horror a woman faces. The power of her hope keeps her children seeking a future that is safe and free from the poison sun that is slowly extinguishing life on the planet.

This book was really depressing. While I liked the message of optimism and never giving up, I don't like the fact that this woman's hope was dragged through deeper and ranker mud each time. It's almost like a slap in the face to the reader. This is what believing and hoping gets you. Nothing but sorrow and anguish.

I don't know if I would call myself an optimist. I believe in the power of good and power of love. I'm a Christian, after all. But I also believe that people will suffer in this life and that sometimes their hopes aren't realized in this life, but in eternity. It says in Proverbs 13:12, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." That's my approach to fiction. I know that bad things happen in life, and the same in books, but I need to have some good with my bad when I read a fiction story. I don't like reading books where I feel worse about life after I finish it than I did when I started. This probably my major problem with this book.

The artwork was well done, and the story itself is suspenseful and exciting. It's just so very depressing. Since this is the first book in the series, I hope that hope does stay alive in this poor woman's heart, despite all that she's suffered.

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Lazarus, Volume 2 by Greg Rucka (Writer), Michael Lark (Artist)

Lazarus, Vol. 2: Lift by Greg Rucka

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


I had trouble rating this because it lacks the impact of the first volume.  Forever seems to get lost in the shuffle, and she was less defined as a character.  Although I felt the flashbacks give more insight into Forever's relationship with her 'father.'  The new storyline about the Barrett family, who have to leave their homestead and travel to the city was interesting, but also sad. At first I didn't get how it tied into the main story, but their paths intersect with Forever in a very pivotal way. It will be interesting to see where their story leads next.

I still like Forever's character a lot and will keep reading this for her.  I think without her as a focus, the story is much less interesting though. I'm not much of a fan of post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction, but I love women warriors/kickbutt artists like a house on fire.  Rucka seems to like them as much as I do.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.



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Lazarus, Volume 1 by Greg Rucka/Michael Lark

Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family by Greg Rucka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A promising idea and a promising series!

In a post-apocalyptic society, select few families own all the resources, including land and supplies and people. The families have Lazaruses to protect them. My understanding is that a Lazarus is a genetically engineered human that has modifications that allow them to survive major trauma and injuries to the body.

In the case of the Carlyle family, their Lazarus is named Forever, and she thinks she is a daughter and sister of the family. She's wrong.

This is an intense action thriller book. Lazarus is thought-provoking as well. The future society make up is hardly an ideal place for most people, with a few families owning all the resources, possessing power over the life and death of everyone under their authority. In one scene, Forever has to execute an innocent man (who confesses to a crime he didn't commit) because the alternative is that all the serfs on the property will be executed.

Forever seems to have a conscience, moreso than her other family members, but she is used as a strategic weapon, and will in fact, do what is necessary for her family. A privilege they abuse with impunity.

Readers who love their heroines lethal will enjoy this. I'm not a big fan of dystopia, but the worldbuilding is interesting. The whole situation seems to be a powder keg about to explode. The house of Carlyle has traitorous forces within it, but the patriarch isn't unaware completely. Forever seems as though she has a crucial role to play in the whole situation, the one who can bring change and perhaps even justice. Which is why members of her family want her taken out of the equation.

I have a feeling that soon Forever will wise up to her situation and decide she no longer desires being a lethal weapon for anyone but herself. I will continue reading this series to find out.

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Z for Zachariah

Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Z for Zachariah was a very suspenseful book. From the moment I started it, I had a knot in my stomach. For most of my life, I lived with my fear of nuclear war and its aftermath. As a child of the 80s, I remember that Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. Were the Soviets going to push the button, or the Americans? Either way, we'd both lose. I remember everyone in school was watching "The Day After Tomorrow," and I was afraid to watch it, but I heard all the ugly details. I inadvertently watched the other nuclear war movie, "Testament," and I still remember how utterly hopeless and depressing it was. I didn't want to die slowly and painfully from radiation poison, nor did I want to be instantly incinerated in the first blast, or have to survive a nuclear winter. It was a very ugly thought that I've tried to push way to the back of my mind. Well, this book brought it all back for me. So, I could deeply sympathize with Ann, the protagonist of this story.



And it turns out that her worst threat is not the aftermath of the nuclear war. It's the fact that the only other apparent survivor of the holocaust is dangerously insane. Ann showed a lot of fortitude and intelligence, in my opinion. I didn't really consider her overly naive, considering she grew up in a sheltered world. I think she did an admirable job of keeping herself alive. How on earth could she be prepared to do deal with a crazy man who decided that everything left in the world belonged to him, and was not hesitant about using violence or ugly methods to make sure it remained in his possession? It was a tough road to travel for this young woman. She had a choice to let this man succumb to radiation poisoning, or to nurse him through it, even knowing he was possibly a murderer. She did what she thought was right, although that action contributed to the destruction of her small, safe world. I appreciate the ethical dilemma that the author presents in this story. Do we abandon all the qualities that make humanity worthwhile, because the civilized world as we know it has gone away? Should we embrace violence as the best solution, because it's the most expedient one? These are all very pertinent issues to Ann in this book, and I had to work through them as I read.



I was literally on the edge of my seat, as I saw how things were unfolding. I felt a rage at Mr. Loomis, who came to Ann's valley, availed himself of her generosity and good heart, and decided that he was entitled to all of it, and he could take control of everything. Oh, I definitely understand that battle that Ann faced. People controlling others is a real problem for me. I felt her pain as she decided that she would have to leave everything was familiar and she'd worked hard for, because she refused to be enslaved to another person, not for any reason.



I found Z for Zachariah to be a powerful read. It did resonate with me, and that wasn't always a comfortable feeling. The issues of isolation, fear for the future, defining who one is when the world is no longer the same, and having control of one's life and destiny were very well-handled here. I think Ann could be a metaphor for any young woman who is facing choices in her life that will define her present and future. I would recommend this book to young adults and to adults, because it has a very timely message, and it was good, albeit nerve-racking at times, entertainment. Also, readers who enjoy stories in which the characters have to use their wits and energies (physical and mental) to survive on the land, and in a hostile environment, will enjoy this story. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to read Z for Zachariah.



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