The second book in this series moves along nicely as the various characters continue to do the things they were doing. We still don’t quite know what it’s all about, just that there is deadly evil beyond the borders of the realm and there’s a Wildboy™ who has visions and all that fantasy gobbledygook (please don’t make this a story about The Chosen One). It all very much still feels like set-up, but I enjoyed most of the characters as they each make their way towards their not-so-clear goals.

An excellent catalog of graphic artworks by this famous student of Dürer. A good chunk of this deals with how Baldung’s work relates to that of his former master. As such, many of Dürer’s and other possible source works are also included for comparison. All art history books should do this. Eventually, Baldung emerges from Dürer’s shadow and his prints are some of the most weirdly fantastic (in both senses of the word) prints to emerge from the Northern Renaissance.

All of Baldung’s images are presented in large and clear reproductions, many of which are printed at actual size. Unfortunately, any of his chiaroscuro prints and drawings don’t quite survive the transition to black and white. Those images end up being murky and difficult to read. A few color plates would have been nice.

As an added bonus, the writing is actually quite interesting with overviews of historical context, related source imagery, and thematic discussion. Not quite your typical drab art history narrative.

A perfectly serviceable Poirot mystery involving the most despicable kind of people on earth. That’s right, theater people.

The Witcher continues with more of Geralt not fighting monsters. There’s a conclave of sorcerers, a double-crossing, a big battle then lots of Ciri. This is not quite the series I expected. I’m not as excited to continue reading as I was before.