Author: elishasbookreview

I am just a 30 something trying to figure out how to survive in this crazy world. I want to share my love of reading with everyone! I want to introduce people to some underrated or unknown authors. I also blog about other media I consume such as TV, Movies, Podcasts, and Video Games.
Posted in Book Reviews, DC comics, Graphic Novels

REVIEW: Batman: Gordon of Gotham by Chuck Dixon

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*No Spoilers*

Collects BATMAN: GORDON OF GOTHAM #1-4, BATMAN: GCPD #1-4 and BATMAN: GORDON’S LAW #1-4.

Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon stars in this new collection of crime stories from the 1990s that stars the colorful, determined cops of Batman’s home town.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The first story in this volume, Batman: Gordon’s Law, Commissioner Gordon has stumbled upon a coverup of a huge money laundering bust, the only trace is the few remaining $1,000 dollar bills.

However, Commissioner Gordon refuses Batman’s aide. Thus, he starts his mission to bust up the corruption within the Gotham Police Department.

I felt like this novel set the tone for the rest of this collection. It was gritty, rough, and brought Gordon into a light not many others get to see. He might be the commissioner of Gotham City, but he’s still a cop no matter what politics may dictate.

Seeing him take on this case without much of Batman’s aide, makes you truly see how rough and corrupt not only the Gotham Police Department is, but Gotham City as a whole. Gordon is just one man, but he’s doing his best to clean up the police corruption.

The second story, Batman: GCPD includes three stories from three of Gotham City’s finest detectives. I have read some of the comics surrounding the GCPD, and I have enjoyed them. It’s interesting to see an inside look into Gotham’s police department.

The story starts when Sargent Harvey Bullock beats up a costumed low-life and his partner goes to request a transfer. Commissioner Gordon grants her the transfer, and so he reassigns Bullock a new partner. All while Harvey is dealing with a rampant serial killer, Internal Affairs breathing down his neck, and his partner getting kidnapped on her new case. As well as another set of detectives on the hunt for a string of high-stakes thefts.

I found Sargent Bullock’s case the most interesting, someone in Gotham is going around killing seemingly random men and only leaving them with a teddy bear dressed up as their profession. The mystery was entertaining and intriguing.

Overall, I enjoyed this second story in this collection. I would say the writing was good, and the characters had interesting storylines and characteristics.

The final and main story: Batman: Gordon of Gotham is as fantastic as the other two stories in this epic volume. The story is about Gordon opening up to Batman about a time in his past when he was a beat cop in Chicago. He shares a story about an assassin who got away.

I love how Gordon is telling Batman a story about his past. Both are lonely characters and to see them bonding in this way makes me happy. I just figured the this was just Gordon getting something off of his chest. Boy, was I wrong!

After storytime is over, Batman tells Gordon something he already knew he had to do: go get sweet vengeance.

Overall these three stories, I enjoyed each of them for different reasons. I would highly recommend this collection for lovers of crime dramas, Commissioner James Gordon, and of course Batman. Even though Batman doesn’t have that much of a presence in this collection, it’s not Batman’s story, it’s the hard-working detectives at GCPD who make this collection worth reading.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Honky Tonk Samurai (Hap and Leonard #9) by Joe R. Lansdale

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*No Major Spoilers*

Only Hap and Leonard would catch a cold case with hot cars, hot women, and ugly skinheads.

The story starts simply enough when Hap, a former 60s activist and self-proclaimed white trash rebel, and Leonard, a tough black, gay Vietnam vet and Republican with an addiction to Dr. Pepper, are working a freelance surveillance job in East Texas. The uneventful stakeout is coming to an end when the pair witness a man abusing his dog. Leonard takes matters into his own fists, and now the bruised dog abuser wants to press charges.

One week later, a woman named Lilly Buckner drops by their new PI office with a proposition: find her missing granddaughter, or she’ll turn in a video of Leonard beating the dog abuser. The pair agrees to take on the cold case and soon discover that the used car dealership where her granddaughter worked is actually a front for a prostitution ring. What began as a missing-person case becomes one of blackmail and murder.

I was recommended this series through a user on Reddit. Someone was looking for novels about gay detectives, and this was one of the recommendations. I chose this novel purely on the title, the other novels in this series have unique titles as well so let’s jump into Honky Tonk Samurai!

This novel is one of the more memorable detective novels I’ve read. Honky Tonk Samurai is filled with colorful characters, non-stop action, and redneck/Texas humor. I will say that the language used is very vulgar. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, you might want to pass on this one. In defense of the choice words and jokes, I felt like that was part of the charm.

Hap and Leonard have great chemistry! You can tell they’ve been through a lot together. Leonard made me laugh at his love of vanilla cookies and Dr. Pepper. That kind of reminds me of myself, I love cookies and Dr. Pepper.

The main plot twist left me baffled, but in the end, it all made sense once all of the pieces were put together. So bonus points for me not guessing the mystery! Usually, I’m able to figure out the mystery about halfway through the book. This one kept me guessing and I really liked that about it.

More on Hap and Leonard’s chemistry, with them being like brothers from another mother, it was a nice change of pace from a lot of the other stories I’ve read in recent weeks. Leonard, I’d say, is the rougher of the two characters even though he’s gay. He’s one that does not mess around when it comes to protecting those that need it. Hap, on the other hand, is more of the mediator type, kind of like keeping the rough part of Leonard in control when necessary.

Overall this book was something new and interesting that I’d never heard of or thought to look up, the subject matter was a bit different but extremely interesting! If you like a story about rough and tough southern boys and some redneck action, this is most definitely the book for you! Although, like I said if crude and vulgar language isn’t your thing then this book is kind of a pass.

Posted in Movie/TV Reviews

My Thoughts So Far on Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?

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Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? focuses on the Mystery Inc. gang as they solve bigger mysteries while also encountering many memorable celebrities, just like in The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Guest stars that have been announced for the show include Chris Paul, Sia, Halsey, Ricky Gervais, Kenan Thompson, Wanda Sykes, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Mark Hamill, along with fictional characters such as Steve Urkel, Batman, Sherlock Holmes, the Flash and Wonder Woman.

I grew up watching Scooby-Doo as many of my long-time readers know. This show has inspired my love of paranormal, horror, and mystery. One of the more memorable Scooby-Doo series was The Scooby-Doo Show where celebrities of the times would guest star and help Scooby and the gang solve a mystery.

The more memorable ones for me are the episodes where celebrities like The Globe Trotters, Don Knotts, and Batman helped out with a mystery while adding a fresh breath of comic relief. A lot of people on the Internet has been wanting this idea of celebrity crossover with Scooby-Doo to be brought back. Well, they have responded with Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?. The first season isn’t over just yet, but I feel like I’ve watched enough to be comfortable giving my thoughts and feelings.

My excitement for this series following the abomination of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! was palpable. I have been DVR’ing every episode and I’ve been more or less enjoying them so far. The art style is reminiscent of What’s New Scooby-Doo? which is the series I grew up on more or less. I don’t remember a time of my life where Scooby and the crew haven’t been there.

As with all shows, each episode is a hit or miss. Not all famous people can act. Voice acting also isn’t as easy as it looks. My favorite episode so far is “Peebles’ Pet Shop of Terrible Terror” where Wanda Sykes guest stars. Most of the guest stars are more for the older generation and adults.

The reason why I liked this episode so far out of the four I’ve seen so far, is because I felt like the writing was good. I have my nitpicks with the episode, but they’re just subtle observations I’ve made. I felt like Scooby being good friends with Wanda was believable and adorable. I also liked how the writers use their friendship to show how much Scooby loves his best friend Shaggy. It felt like good character development and even though the story wasn’t the best, I still had fun watching this.

I would totally check it out if you’re a Scooby-Doo fan yourself!

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Club Reads, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

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*No Major Spoilers*

New York, 1888. Gas lamps still flicker in the city streets, but the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. The person who controls the means to turn night into day will make history–and a vast fortune. A young untested lawyer named Paul Cravath, fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul’s client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion-dollar question: Who invented the light bulb and holds the right to power the country?

The case affords Paul entry to the heady world of high society–the glittering parties in Gramercy Park mansions, and the more insidious dealings done behind closed doors. The task facing him is beyond daunting. Edison is a wily, dangerous opponent with vast resources at his disposal–private spies, newspapers in his pocket, and the backing of J. P. Morgan himself. Yet this unknown lawyer shares with his famous adversary a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it?

“Poor people all think they deserve to be rich,” he continued. “Rich people live every day with the uneasy knowledge that we do not.”

Graham Moore; The Last Days of Night

This historical fiction novel was interesting to me because I’ve always had a fascination with the early inventors. The remarkable scientific leaps are amazing even for the times. Without these such inventors, we wouldn’t have things like the Internet, our smartphones and computers.

The mythos that surrounds Nichola Tesla is fascinating. How he was so far advanced for his time, and whether the government was conspiring to hide his inventions or ideas. Tesla is featured prominently in this novel, and I enjoyed how not only foreign in a fact that he is from another country, but foreign in how his intelligence far outpaces everyone else.

Paul’s adventure into this strange new world full of scientific wonders was awe-inspiring. How Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb and so many other inventions from the scientific community. I can understand Paul’s struggle to comprehend new technologies.

I would highly recommend this novel for lovers of historical fiction, early inventors, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and early lawyering.

Posted in Personal Blogs

Sorry for the Radio Silence

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Photo by Mike Bird on Pexels.com

I have been dealing with a lot of mental health problems as of late. As well as family drama going on. I just haven’t found the energy to do anything the past week or so.

I’m going to take a break once I get these books I’ve slowly been reading finished, reviewed and published.

Thanks for your patience and hope to hear from you soon!