Trick of the Light – Scott Pilgrim, Book Six

I should dislike this book. It’s almost all fight. It backtracks much of the development of the characters from the previous books. Its thesis statement is messy. Wallace is barely in it. And yet, rarely have I seen a series that concludes more powerfully, compressing all of its meaning and conflict and turmoil, literal and…

Another Day – Scott Pilgrim, Book Five

What happens after the monster is defeated? What happens when the hero has to settle down and re-acclimate to an ordinary life? I’ve always loved stories that ask these questions, that treat the usual climax as a secondary focus, prioritizing the emotional journey the character faces even if they’ve stopped moving their legs. Scott Pilgrim…

Figures in the Distance – Scott Pilgrim, Book Four

This is the book I've been rearing to write about. The Scott Pilgrim books are all enjoyable, but the latter half of the series raises the stakes to much more than relationship drama and magical battles. I love both of those, but now they have layers. Now the books charge ahead with all of the…

The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Scott Pilgrim, Book Three

The culmination of tension in the past two books as to the identify and significance of Scott’s former squeeze precipitates here as we finally meet the mysterious Envy Adams. To further complicate matters, she’s here with Todd, Ramona’s third evil ex. Unlike the short fights in the previous two novels, this one extends through the…

Meals and Mimickry – Scott Pilgrim, Book Two

Relationships are hard, what with boyfriends and girlfriends and friend-friends, some of whom have secret evil exes that attack you at random with lethal weaponry and sick finishers. It's a common problem. We rejoin Scott and company as they struggle through the difficulties of Canadian adolescence, Scott with the dual quests of breaking up with…

The Deserts We Make of Ourselves – Scott Pilgrim, Book One

  The world is a cold place. Life takes a lot out of you, even when the stakes are as low as they can get. This series is about a lot of things. It changes as you get older and see new ways to interpret its subjects. It’s more than it appears on its surface.…