Review of Sable

Book #39. Sable, by Mike Grell. Hardcover.

I discovered by accident that this book even existed.

Mike Grell is my favorite comic book creator, and two of his creations (Warlord and Jon Sable) are well inside my top 10 list. There is a black-and-white collection of the earliest Warlord stories that is now out-of-print, and therefore more expensive than I’d like to pay for it. So every few months I poke around Amazon and see if a reasonably-priced version of that volume shows up. But one time one that I searched, Amazon suggested this book, instead. And it was one I had never heard of. But it was a novel featuring one of my favorite characters ever, so of course I had to buy it.

The novel was published in 2000, and covers the basic material from issues 1-6 of the original comic book series. That original comic book series ran from 1983 to 1988. A criminally short-lived television series aired in 1987, and is where the image below comes from. Those first issues serve as the “origin story” for the series, but the plot also works as the complete arc for the novel.

Jon Sable is a former Olympian who moved from the US to his wife’s home of South Africa. When his safari tourism business slows, he takes a job as a game warden and makes himself a serious impediment to the illegal ivory trade. Poachers kill his wife and children in retaliation.

This could easily have turned into a standard revenge piece, but Mike Grell does not tell standard stories. He layers in a second career for Sable, turning the bedtime stories he used to tell his children into a line of successful children’s books. Moving the action back to the US allows Grell to explore Sable’s childhood and his attempts to move on with his life. But when someone from his past comes out of the shadows, he travels back to Africa to finally settle the score with the man who ordered the hit on his family.

Grell does a fine job weaving in South African politics and history into the book, as well as demonstrating his knowledge of hunting and weaponry. There were a few odd changes in point-of-view, which might be a holdover from writing for comics. But this was a thoroughly entertaining read, and a great reminder of why I like this character so much.

Source: Amazon.com

This Week in Reading

BOOKS:

Sable, by Mike Grell, COMPLETED.

Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis, pages 392 – 477.

Mama Maggie, by Marty Makary & Ellen Vaughn, COMPLETED. Reviewed here.

COMICS:
Constantine the Hellblazer 5
The Cross and the Switchblade
DC Comics Bombshells 3
Ghost Rider 2099 #1
Starfire 5
Trekker omnibus, pages 60 – 118. (*)

(*) Covering the third and fourth stories, which are covered by Ruth and Darrin Sutherland on episodes 3 & 4 of their excellent podcast, Trekker Talk. 

Review of Mama Maggie

Book #38. Mama Maggie, by Marty Makary & Ellen Vaughn. Hardcover.

Maggie Gobran had been a successful Egypt businesswoman and university professor when she felt that God was calling her to serve the poor of her nation, coming to be known there and eventually around the world as “Mama Maggie.” For her work in the “garbage villages” of Cairo, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

This book tells the story of how Gobran acted on the compassion she felt for the poorest of Cairo’s poor, the “garbage people” who live in the sprawling slums of the city. Her managerial and organization background came in handy in creating the Stephen’s Children charity, which has trained, educated and loved thousands of children. Learning about the mind-numbing bureaucracy of Egypt was interesting, and demonstrated the tenacity that Mama Maggie and her family needed to get the organization up and going.

The discussion of the religious landscape of Egypt was also very interesting. When Stephen’s Children began, many of the poor were Coptic Christians, as are Mama Maggie and her family. But as a result of policy changes, many poor Muslims moved into the slums, and the charity served them equally well. The last few chapters of the book talk about the recent persecution of the Copts and other Christians as Egyptian’s government turned more hard-line.

The story of Maggie’s spiritual journey is also interesting. As her organization grew, and as demands on her time increased, she chose to spend more time in retreat, more time praying. Egypt has a long history of monasticism, and Maggie has integrated many of these practices and traditions into her modern twenty-first century life.

This is an authorized biography, so I imagine that there are some “sharp edges” that were filed off. But as a portrait of a woman committed to a cause, committed to the poor, and committed to God, it works. It is both inspirational and informative.

Source: public library, after hearing the book referenced in a church sermon.

This Week in Reading

BOOKS:
 Sable, by Mike Grell, page 222 – 296.

Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis, pages 242 – 392.

Mama Maggie, by Marty Makary & Ellen Vaughn, pages 1 – 62.

COMICS:
 Freedom Fighters 12 & 14
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck 264
Trekker omnibus, pages 1 – 59 (*)

(*) Covering the first two stories, which are covered by Ruth and Darrin Sutherland on episodes 1 & 2 of their excellent podcast, Trekker Talk. 

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

Grab your current read.

Open to a random page.

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

From Page 16 of  Mama Maggie, by Marty Makary & Ellen Vaughn.

"But even though she looks like a nun, she is not. A former marketing executive and university professor, she ventured beyond the borders of her priveleged life in Cairo and found something she'd been looking for. Though she looks ethereal, she responded viscerally to the pain of the people who live i the ghetto, with a core of stee to set things right that had been so wrong."

This Week in Reading

BOOKS: 

Sable, by Mike Grell, page 170 – 222. 

Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis, pages 102 – 242.                 

 

COMICS:
All-Star Squadron Annual 3
Captain America Annual 5

Dollhouse one-shot, 1 – 5

Lone Hawk, Graphic Novel

(More) Podcast Appearances

Over the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of appearing as a guest on a number of podcasts. There are a few more to be recorded and released in the near future, but here are three that have been recently released.

Ryan Daly invited me on to be part of his Secret Origins podcast. On episode 17 of that show, we spoke about the issue 17 of that title, which featured an almost word-for-word retelling of the original story of one of my favorite Silver Age characters, Adam Strange.

I also talked with my long-time podcasting friend Stephanie Zimmer. A few years ago, I wrote about the end of her personal journal podcast "From Darkness to Light." I recently appeared on her television-themed podcast TV Rewind. Along with her other guest Reshanda, we spent episode 234 talking about Doctor Who, Survivor, Master Chef, Gotham, and much much more.

 I thank these podcasting buddies for their hospitality. It is always a pleasure to podcast with such excellent colleagues.