Rakugo, or a type of traditional Japanese humor with a long history, is the focus of this little book for children. I don't know much about rakugo, apart from seeing it on TV or in movies, so, in that respect, it won't affect much my review.
This book is a compilation of some very simple stories, with very simple humor, and a couple of puns and plays on words to make the reader laugh. It is all quite childish, and even if they may bring the reader to chuckle a couple of times, the level of the humor (as a read) is just too low. Also, being rakugo dependent on word play, this book, even with its easy Japanese, may be a difficult read for foreigners (because it will be difficult to get some of the puns without an acceptable level of the language). On the other hand, the book also contains a couple of pages dedicated to explain the world of rakugo, the theaters were it is shown, the variety shows that surround it...
Probably best to watch the real thing. Rakugo seems to be lost without the acting of a performer.
The best: a nice introduction to the world of rakugo
The worst: too simple
Alternatives: I don't know much about rakugo, so... manga with humor: "OnePunch Man" or "ヒロイン失格", and in English: Terry Pratchett, "The Order of the Stick" & "War and Peas: Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers" for older readers
5.5/10
(Original Japanese)
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Doctor Mirage - Magdalene Visaggio, Nick Robles (Illustrator)
Doctor Mirage was capable of seeing the dead. But now, even her dead husband, who was always by her side, has disappeared. Mirage cannot live without him, so she will try her best to reunite with him, whatever she has to do.
"Doctor Mirage" is another of those supernatural comic/books with a simple story, and not a particular original development, that, however, surprises for different reasons, giving the reader a very entertaining and enjoyable time.
For starters the drawing style. Even if the drawings are not top-notch, the use of strips and color is amazing, and do suit perfectly the story, giving it a dreamy and kaleidoscopic atmosphere that feels like a trip to the underworld.
This use of color and strips is also mixed with some simple, but well used, storytelling techniques, perfectly combining the writing with the image, and making Mirage's story a seamless affair, with almost nothing that needs trimming.
Quite the contrary. It actually feels the story should be a little bit longer, because the ending feels a little bit rushed, and it's kind of a mess, as if it needed another chapter or two to better develop the story and its characters.
Minor quibbles, as "Doctor Mirage" is totally worth it.
The best: the use of color is amazing; it is a touching story; it has some very original storytelling/strip usage
The worst: the ending feels rushed
Alternatives: "Gretel", "The Dresden Files", "亜人" ("Ajin")
6/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
"Doctor Mirage" is another of those supernatural comic/books with a simple story, and not a particular original development, that, however, surprises for different reasons, giving the reader a very entertaining and enjoyable time.
For starters the drawing style. Even if the drawings are not top-notch, the use of strips and color is amazing, and do suit perfectly the story, giving it a dreamy and kaleidoscopic atmosphere that feels like a trip to the underworld.
This use of color and strips is also mixed with some simple, but well used, storytelling techniques, perfectly combining the writing with the image, and making Mirage's story a seamless affair, with almost nothing that needs trimming.
Quite the contrary. It actually feels the story should be a little bit longer, because the ending feels a little bit rushed, and it's kind of a mess, as if it needed another chapter or two to better develop the story and its characters.
Minor quibbles, as "Doctor Mirage" is totally worth it.
The best: the use of color is amazing; it is a touching story; it has some very original storytelling/strip usage
The worst: the ending feels rushed
Alternatives: "Gretel", "The Dresden Files", "亜人" ("Ajin")
6/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
A Rose to the Torch - Bartholomew Lander
A young girl, that has been harboring a secret for all of her life, suddenly finds herself in the middle of a feud between to warring sides of hemomancers, the scourge of humanity.
The secret being that she is a hemomancer herself. Hemomancers being humans with the power to use their blood as a weapon. Lander being someone who has probably read "Tokyo Ghoul" just a few days before starting to write this book.
Or not, but while reading "A Rose to the Torch", "Tokyo Ghoul" was the reference that kept popping into my mind. Because the fights in that manga were, in my mind, quite similar to the blood fights Lander was describing in this book.
However, back to the review... This book is not a horrible one, far from it. However, it is horribly convoluted, and its world is not well developed, leaving many of the events just Deux Ex machina moments. We never really get into the mind of Coral, let alone Leblanc or Lena. Many of Coral's reactions come out of the blue, before we have really connected with her, and some of the uses of the blood, the power the hemomancers have over it and all the messy stuff there, is difficult to follow. It feels Lander was envisioning every scene in his mind as if he was watching a show or a manga, but on paper, they don't work so well. And many of the side quests feel unnecessary, just to have some eye candy moments. Lena's character, in particular, feels like an ill conceived decision.
The ending is actually quite acceptable, even though rushed, with a couple of little but nice surprises, and leaves the reader with a nice 'bloody' aftertaste.
Nothing, though, to make it stand out of the pack.
The best: the ending is nice enough (even if messy); some intents to be original
The worst: nothing to make it stand out; the hemomancers' powers are a mess and don't mix well with guns; their motivations and actions are also head-scratching
Alternatives: "Tokyo Ghoul", "The Dresden Files"
4.5/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
The secret being that she is a hemomancer herself. Hemomancers being humans with the power to use their blood as a weapon. Lander being someone who has probably read "Tokyo Ghoul" just a few days before starting to write this book.
Or not, but while reading "A Rose to the Torch", "Tokyo Ghoul" was the reference that kept popping into my mind. Because the fights in that manga were, in my mind, quite similar to the blood fights Lander was describing in this book.
However, back to the review... This book is not a horrible one, far from it. However, it is horribly convoluted, and its world is not well developed, leaving many of the events just Deux Ex machina moments. We never really get into the mind of Coral, let alone Leblanc or Lena. Many of Coral's reactions come out of the blue, before we have really connected with her, and some of the uses of the blood, the power the hemomancers have over it and all the messy stuff there, is difficult to follow. It feels Lander was envisioning every scene in his mind as if he was watching a show or a manga, but on paper, they don't work so well. And many of the side quests feel unnecessary, just to have some eye candy moments. Lena's character, in particular, feels like an ill conceived decision.
The ending is actually quite acceptable, even though rushed, with a couple of little but nice surprises, and leaves the reader with a nice 'bloody' aftertaste.
Nothing, though, to make it stand out of the pack.
The best: the ending is nice enough (even if messy); some intents to be original
The worst: nothing to make it stand out; the hemomancers' powers are a mess and don't mix well with guns; their motivations and actions are also head-scratching
Alternatives: "Tokyo Ghoul", "The Dresden Files"
4.5/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Etüden im Schnee (Memorias de una osa polar) - Yōko Tawada
Ego-trip. This is how one ends feeling like after reading "Etüden im Schnee" by Yōko Tawada, the story of some polar bears who do little to hold our attention, a story that stretches for so long that every page ends up feeling like 100, and which doesn't make much sense whatsoever.
And it starts well enough. The first polar bear, let's call her the matriarch,'s story is more or less interesting, with a nice touch of magic realism, treating the bear like a human that goes to conferences, works, finds love... All played more or less straight, making for some acceptable humor and a nice atmosphere. However, Tawada decides then to stretch the story with two more polar bears, the daughter and the grandson, whose adventures are really, but really really boring, and whose lives are also boring as hell. The descriptions stretch, the commentary becomes too much in your face, and the reader will stop caring at all about what is going on. Not that it makes much sense anyway <spoiler> what is Michael Jackson doing there?</spoiler>.
Bad.
The best: the first third
The worst: repetitive, narcissistic rubbish; the reader comes out of the book feeling Tawada thinks she has written a masterpiece (of course, it could be she is still scratching her head in amazement this was given the ok for publication)
Alternatives: ff you want to read about families, go for Jaume Cabré if you can; maybe Shigeko Yuki's "女中っ子"; Lucia Berlin's "A Manual for Cleaning Women"; "A Room of One's Own / Three Guineas" by Virginia Woolf
2/10
(Spanish translation by Belén Santana)
And it starts well enough. The first polar bear, let's call her the matriarch,'s story is more or less interesting, with a nice touch of magic realism, treating the bear like a human that goes to conferences, works, finds love... All played more or less straight, making for some acceptable humor and a nice atmosphere. However, Tawada decides then to stretch the story with two more polar bears, the daughter and the grandson, whose adventures are really, but really really boring, and whose lives are also boring as hell. The descriptions stretch, the commentary becomes too much in your face, and the reader will stop caring at all about what is going on. Not that it makes much sense anyway <spoiler> what is Michael Jackson doing there?</spoiler>.
Bad.
The best: the first third
The worst: repetitive, narcissistic rubbish; the reader comes out of the book feeling Tawada thinks she has written a masterpiece (of course, it could be she is still scratching her head in amazement this was given the ok for publication)
Alternatives: ff you want to read about families, go for Jaume Cabré if you can; maybe Shigeko Yuki's "女中っ子"; Lucia Berlin's "A Manual for Cleaning Women"; "A Room of One's Own / Three Guineas" by Virginia Woolf
2/10
(Spanish translation by Belén Santana)
Sunday, January 19, 2020
The Killings At Badger's Drift - Caroline Graham
A couple of months ago I read P.D. James's "Death In Holy Orders", in which an old lady was killed for seeing something she shouldn't have. And here we are again, in "The Killings At Badger's Drift" with an old lady being killed for seeing something they shouldn't have.
These British old ladies...
Luckily for us, "The Killings At Badger's Drift" is a better book than the other one, even if it also suffers of rushing to the resolution with as little police work as possible. Here we don't have our Sherlock's moments of analyzing what we know and what we have read; here we come to those moments of sudden clarity in a way that it is all too forced.
Well, too bad. Because the set up, with Chief Inspector Barnaby being visited by another old lady that tells him her friend has been killed, even if it all pointed out to an accident, is quite good, our 'hero' going all around the place, poking his nose everywhere and discovering everyone in that little, cute town is as dirty, corrupt and pompous as possible. The presentation of the characters is good, the conversations give us just little snippets that can, or not, give you an inkling to whom the killer may be, and some turns along the way help to pull you out of the scent and keep you on your toes till the killer is revealed.
A competent little mystery.
The best: The characters, all so sleazy and selfish; the atmosphere
The worst: it is easy to get a little bit lost with so many little set pieces; the resolution is a little bit lame
Alternatives: I have read so many whodunits that I am at a loss to recommend something that doesn't sound Agatha Christie-ish; so let's say "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and a classic: "The Mystery of the Yellow Room"by Gaston Leroux
6.5/10
(English)
These British old ladies...
Luckily for us, "The Killings At Badger's Drift" is a better book than the other one, even if it also suffers of rushing to the resolution with as little police work as possible. Here we don't have our Sherlock's moments of analyzing what we know and what we have read; here we come to those moments of sudden clarity in a way that it is all too forced.
Well, too bad. Because the set up, with Chief Inspector Barnaby being visited by another old lady that tells him her friend has been killed, even if it all pointed out to an accident, is quite good, our 'hero' going all around the place, poking his nose everywhere and discovering everyone in that little, cute town is as dirty, corrupt and pompous as possible. The presentation of the characters is good, the conversations give us just little snippets that can, or not, give you an inkling to whom the killer may be, and some turns along the way help to pull you out of the scent and keep you on your toes till the killer is revealed.
A competent little mystery.
The best: The characters, all so sleazy and selfish; the atmosphere
The worst: it is easy to get a little bit lost with so many little set pieces; the resolution is a little bit lame
Alternatives: I have read so many whodunits that I am at a loss to recommend something that doesn't sound Agatha Christie-ish; so let's say "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and a classic: "The Mystery of the Yellow Room"by Gaston Leroux
6.5/10
(English)
Intemperie - Jesús Carrasco
A novel of nowhere, anywhere, with a little child running from someone at its center, in a dry, deserted environment, seethed by heartless characters; that is what "Intemperie" is about. A novel that is dry, unwelcoming, and not precisely naive, that suffers from Carrasco trying to bite more than he can.
Because this would have worked better as a short story, the plot losing steam as the pages turn around, our child's misadventures becoming a little bit too long in the tooth as Carrasco overwhelms us with as many words we haven't heard of as he can use. He does, though, create an amazing atmosphere, which could be anywhere in Spain after the Civil War as much as in a post-global warming-gone crazy near future. The story's setting, characters, plot is ambivalent by necessity, by desire, our journey the same as the child's, walking from one place to the other with purposelessness, just to stay alive. With violence, death, around every corner, with selfishness, lust, in front, behind, everywhere. Too bad it is not more tightly done, because this ends up being an exercise in mood creation.
The best: the use of language; the atmosphere; the dry violence; the way it makes the reader feel this is a world we could find ourselves in any moment in the near future
The worst: Carrasco gloats a little bit too much in his use of language, transforming the story in a 'search in the dictionary' quest; this would have been way better as a short(er) story; some moments are dragged on and/or are too repetitive
Alternatives: it reminds, as it says on the cover, to some of Delibes's stories (in atmosphere and writing, not as much in plot); and maybe also "For Whom The Bell Tolls" to add a little bit more options
6/10
(Castilian or European Spanish, whatever you want to call it)
Because this would have worked better as a short story, the plot losing steam as the pages turn around, our child's misadventures becoming a little bit too long in the tooth as Carrasco overwhelms us with as many words we haven't heard of as he can use. He does, though, create an amazing atmosphere, which could be anywhere in Spain after the Civil War as much as in a post-global warming-gone crazy near future. The story's setting, characters, plot is ambivalent by necessity, by desire, our journey the same as the child's, walking from one place to the other with purposelessness, just to stay alive. With violence, death, around every corner, with selfishness, lust, in front, behind, everywhere. Too bad it is not more tightly done, because this ends up being an exercise in mood creation.
The best: the use of language; the atmosphere; the dry violence; the way it makes the reader feel this is a world we could find ourselves in any moment in the near future
The worst: Carrasco gloats a little bit too much in his use of language, transforming the story in a 'search in the dictionary' quest; this would have been way better as a short(er) story; some moments are dragged on and/or are too repetitive
Alternatives: it reminds, as it says on the cover, to some of Delibes's stories (in atmosphere and writing, not as much in plot); and maybe also "For Whom The Bell Tolls" to add a little bit more options
6/10
(Castilian or European Spanish, whatever you want to call it)
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
"82년생 김지영" ("Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982") ("Kim Ji-young, nacida en 1982") - Cho Nam-Joo
Dull. A research paper masquerading as a novel (with references et. al.), "82년생 김지영" ("Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982") is a very interesting, fascinating, and probably, needed look on women's life in Korea, let down by poor prose and a pointless, non-existent story, that leaves you feeling you are reading a table of contents of all the horrible situations a woman can go through in the country.
Because it is difficult to say this book has a story.
It all goes around Kim Ji-young, a young, married, with a child, woman, who starts to behave in a strange way. But the story doesn't stop to analyze or see the development of her behavior, but jumps in time to the moment she was born to lecture us on Korean women's life in the country from the 80s (every chapter more or less a decade).
Now, this is a book of passion, with a relentless anger and the need to say a message (a message it is difficult to disagree with, the life of a woman in Korea, if you believe even like, 10%, of what Nam-joo is saying, being kind of like living under constant surveillance in a dystopian state). But is a book that loses itself in the anger, and ups being a lecture were the author just constantly hits you on the head with data and terrible after terrible situation for Kim Ji-young, all of those situations being to blame on selfish, self-centered, violent, sexist, dangerous men. Now, there are a couple of moments were you see that Nam-Joo knows (or feels) that the system, the structural and cultural violence, are as much or more to blame than the individuals, but she does little to develop that, just centering on specific casesin a, look, my example is the only example! kind of exposition.
If there were also some moments of positive analysis to some of the men's behavior, or, better, more analysis on the way many women also play into theses structures and cultures of sexism, the book would have been better. As it comes, it feels like the author is gloating in those situations.
But see, I am doing a review of a research paper. This is not a novel, is just a series of serious and terrible situations to make Kim Ji-young, and the reader, miserable. A book that ends up as a shout out for being individualist and selfish, and not thinking but for oneself and one's own needs (free time, things, money, me, me, me!).
The best: how it criticizes some behaviors, micro-attacks, comments and situations in a sexist society; the 'anger' that is needed to change things; the way it depicts the paranoia state in which our heroine lives
The worst: it is just a relentless attack in list mode, with zero balance and not very well developed; it reinforces some ideas of selfishness and individualism
Further reading: heck, just go and read research papers; for Korea my recommendation would be "Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations" by Katharine H.S. Moon; East Asia in general (or more global, even): "Postcolonial International Relations" (Lily H. M. Ling), "Nightwork" (Anne Allison), "The Modern Madame Butterfly" (Karen Ma) or "East Asian Sexualities: Modernity, Gender & New Sexual Cultures" (several), and the chapter about Korea in Enloe's "The Curious Feminist"
5.5/10
(Spanish translation by Joo Hasun)
Because it is difficult to say this book has a story.
It all goes around Kim Ji-young, a young, married, with a child, woman, who starts to behave in a strange way. But the story doesn't stop to analyze or see the development of her behavior, but jumps in time to the moment she was born to lecture us on Korean women's life in the country from the 80s (every chapter more or less a decade).
Now, this is a book of passion, with a relentless anger and the need to say a message (a message it is difficult to disagree with, the life of a woman in Korea, if you believe even like, 10%, of what Nam-joo is saying, being kind of like living under constant surveillance in a dystopian state). But is a book that loses itself in the anger, and ups being a lecture were the author just constantly hits you on the head with data and terrible after terrible situation for Kim Ji-young, all of those situations being to blame on selfish, self-centered, violent, sexist, dangerous men. Now, there are a couple of moments were you see that Nam-Joo knows (or feels) that the system, the structural and cultural violence, are as much or more to blame than the individuals, but she does little to develop that, just centering on specific casesin a, look, my example is the only example! kind of exposition.
If there were also some moments of positive analysis to some of the men's behavior, or, better, more analysis on the way many women also play into theses structures and cultures of sexism, the book would have been better. As it comes, it feels like the author is gloating in those situations.
But see, I am doing a review of a research paper. This is not a novel, is just a series of serious and terrible situations to make Kim Ji-young, and the reader, miserable. A book that ends up as a shout out for being individualist and selfish, and not thinking but for oneself and one's own needs (free time, things, money, me, me, me!).
The best: how it criticizes some behaviors, micro-attacks, comments and situations in a sexist society; the 'anger' that is needed to change things; the way it depicts the paranoia state in which our heroine lives
The worst: it is just a relentless attack in list mode, with zero balance and not very well developed; it reinforces some ideas of selfishness and individualism
Further reading: heck, just go and read research papers; for Korea my recommendation would be "Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations" by Katharine H.S. Moon; East Asia in general (or more global, even): "Postcolonial International Relations" (Lily H. M. Ling), "Nightwork" (Anne Allison), "The Modern Madame Butterfly" (Karen Ma) or "East Asian Sexualities: Modernity, Gender & New Sexual Cultures" (several), and the chapter about Korea in Enloe's "The Curious Feminist"
5.5/10
(Spanish translation by Joo Hasun)
白河夜船 - Banana Yoshimoto
Privileged. That is the feeling I got reading for the first time Banana Yoshimoto twenty years ago and that still 'haunts' me as I read "白河夜船" in this 2020. These are the stories of a privileged person for privileged people, that gloat in their privilege.
That doesn't mean that the three short stories that are included in this volume are bad. No, or I wouldn't give them the rating I do. But, I always end up with the feeling that Banana's characters have too much free time, too much money and too many privileges, even if their lives are not the best or the happiest.
The first story revolves around a woman who doesn't work, doesn't do anything and lives her life thanks to the money from her partner, a married man. Yes, it could be understood as a critique of this kind of lifestyle and the purposelessness it entails, but it also gloats in the inner dialogues of the character, and her 'pain' for having too much free time.
The second is around a woman whose brother died, and two of the women that were in a relationship with him. Again, inner dialogues, nice introspection and study of the self, but also kind of shallow and superficial.
And the third is about a woman who was in a relationship with a man who also was in a relationship with another woman, and how the three kind of ended up living together, and how she goes to the 'dark side' of the city in search for answers when she starts hearing a strange music.
In all of them we find the inner dialogues, the need to find something in an empty life, the pain of loss, the pointlessness of modern, urban life, lesbian ambivalence... All very Banana, good, but also... shallow.
The best: some beautiful writing; dreamy and beautiful atmosphere
The worst: it leaves you with a strange aftertaste, as if all those inner dialogues were just Yoshimoto bringing her fantasies to live; in some ways, the stories revolve around problems for the ones that need to find problems
Alternatives: I feel Murakami (Haruki) is also part of this trend, or Yoko Ogawa or Hiromi Kawakami; some of their works I enjoy more than others
6.5/10
(Original Japanese)
That doesn't mean that the three short stories that are included in this volume are bad. No, or I wouldn't give them the rating I do. But, I always end up with the feeling that Banana's characters have too much free time, too much money and too many privileges, even if their lives are not the best or the happiest.
The first story revolves around a woman who doesn't work, doesn't do anything and lives her life thanks to the money from her partner, a married man. Yes, it could be understood as a critique of this kind of lifestyle and the purposelessness it entails, but it also gloats in the inner dialogues of the character, and her 'pain' for having too much free time.
The second is around a woman whose brother died, and two of the women that were in a relationship with him. Again, inner dialogues, nice introspection and study of the self, but also kind of shallow and superficial.
And the third is about a woman who was in a relationship with a man who also was in a relationship with another woman, and how the three kind of ended up living together, and how she goes to the 'dark side' of the city in search for answers when she starts hearing a strange music.
In all of them we find the inner dialogues, the need to find something in an empty life, the pain of loss, the pointlessness of modern, urban life, lesbian ambivalence... All very Banana, good, but also... shallow.
The best: some beautiful writing; dreamy and beautiful atmosphere
The worst: it leaves you with a strange aftertaste, as if all those inner dialogues were just Yoshimoto bringing her fantasies to live; in some ways, the stories revolve around problems for the ones that need to find problems
Alternatives: I feel Murakami (Haruki) is also part of this trend, or Yoko Ogawa or Hiromi Kawakami; some of their works I enjoy more than others
6.5/10
(Original Japanese)
Sunday, January 12, 2020
The Betrayal of Ka (The Transprophetics Book 1) - Shea R. Oliver
Humans are all over the universe. And unbeknownst to Earthlings, some of them (the ones from Koranth and Zoranth, the dominant planets) are planning to invade the Earth and use it as a resources well. "The Betrayal of Ka" develops this, not particularly original, idea in a three-pronged story-line, where we have a mixture of adventure, mystery, everyday life conundrums, and political/economic thrills.
On one corner we have Kadamba, a human sent to prison for killing a child in one of those far away worlds, probably the better developed character, with some gravitas and a nice arc. On the second we have some Earthlings, in particular the brothers Dylan and Bjorn, whose story line is not so good, but is also enjoyable and is well balanced with Kadamba's one. On the third one we have some military types, in a story line that feels a little bit like filler and whose purpose in the big picture is, for now, a little bit of a mystery. They are not particularly interesting characters, and it took me a while to start to be able to take the Colonel from the Captain. On the last corner, we have the owner of one of those alien corporations who use portals to go from one world to another (someone has watched too many sci-fi shows) and conquer them to use them for their own purposes. The owner being one of those people with mental powers, and being in a relationship with one of the Ministers of the government of Koranth and Zoranth, a Minister with her own secret motivations and desire for power.
Does it sound convoluted? It is. A tiny little bit. Because, if the story had centered just on Kadamba and maybe the Earth children, it would probably have had a better balance. The military and corporations story lines feel like fodder, and the characters are a little bit boring, in particular the owner of the corporation. Also, some of Kadamba's adventures are stretched a little bit thin, and the Earthlings story takes a while to make any kind of sense (even though in the end it messes quite well with the rest of the plot).
The worst that could be said is that the book is not particularly original: humans are not only on Earth but all over the universe; there are portals for fast transportation from A to B planet; there are some secrets to stretch (I mean, develop) the story in future volumes; there are humans with powers. This point one that I didn't quite agree with.
Being so big a part of the story, it's a pity that the 'transprophetics' side quest feels like kind of an afterthought, with the powers of those humans poorly developed and their impact on the story not very well thought of. It feels like someone wants superhumans in their story just for the sake of it. It could be that the idea is better developed in future volumes, but, for now, it doesn't feel like there is a particular reason for them to be there.
"The Betrayal of Ka" is an entertaining book, with an easy to read plot and some good points, but it lacks something to make it stand from the pack.
The best: it is entertaining; it has interesting characters
The worst: it needs some editing; the use of language falters in a couple of places; it is not particularly original; the 'mental powers' part feels half-cooked; the corporations' storyline is kind of boring
Further reading: Frank Herbert's "Dune", Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers", Dan Simmons's "Hyperion" or Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" come to mind.
5.5/10
(English original)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
On one corner we have Kadamba, a human sent to prison for killing a child in one of those far away worlds, probably the better developed character, with some gravitas and a nice arc. On the second we have some Earthlings, in particular the brothers Dylan and Bjorn, whose story line is not so good, but is also enjoyable and is well balanced with Kadamba's one. On the third one we have some military types, in a story line that feels a little bit like filler and whose purpose in the big picture is, for now, a little bit of a mystery. They are not particularly interesting characters, and it took me a while to start to be able to take the Colonel from the Captain. On the last corner, we have the owner of one of those alien corporations who use portals to go from one world to another (someone has watched too many sci-fi shows) and conquer them to use them for their own purposes. The owner being one of those people with mental powers, and being in a relationship with one of the Ministers of the government of Koranth and Zoranth, a Minister with her own secret motivations and desire for power.
Does it sound convoluted? It is. A tiny little bit. Because, if the story had centered just on Kadamba and maybe the Earth children, it would probably have had a better balance. The military and corporations story lines feel like fodder, and the characters are a little bit boring, in particular the owner of the corporation. Also, some of Kadamba's adventures are stretched a little bit thin, and the Earthlings story takes a while to make any kind of sense (even though in the end it messes quite well with the rest of the plot).
The worst that could be said is that the book is not particularly original: humans are not only on Earth but all over the universe; there are portals for fast transportation from A to B planet; there are some secrets to stretch (I mean, develop) the story in future volumes; there are humans with powers. This point one that I didn't quite agree with.
Being so big a part of the story, it's a pity that the 'transprophetics' side quest feels like kind of an afterthought, with the powers of those humans poorly developed and their impact on the story not very well thought of. It feels like someone wants superhumans in their story just for the sake of it. It could be that the idea is better developed in future volumes, but, for now, it doesn't feel like there is a particular reason for them to be there.
"The Betrayal of Ka" is an entertaining book, with an easy to read plot and some good points, but it lacks something to make it stand from the pack.
The best: it is entertaining; it has interesting characters
The worst: it needs some editing; the use of language falters in a couple of places; it is not particularly original; the 'mental powers' part feels half-cooked; the corporations' storyline is kind of boring
Further reading: Frank Herbert's "Dune", Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers", Dan Simmons's "Hyperion" or Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" come to mind.
5.5/10
(English original)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
Friday, January 10, 2020
Cinder - Marissa Meyer
Count me thoroughly surprised with "Cinder", a book I started with a raised brow, and fell in love with almost just two or three pages in.
"Cinder" tells the story of, well, Cinder, a cyborg girl that works as a mechanic, has a horrible stepmother, two too self-centered sisters, and a prince that happens to come to her shop with an android she has to repair. Do you need anything else or can you already develop the plot and where it is going to in your head? In case you need something else, this is after Fourth World War, we are in Asia, there is a horrible plague going on, and from the Moon comes the threat of the Lunar people and their queen, the Lunars people with powers that can make people from Earth do things they wouldn't want to.
Yes. It is not Dickens or Proust. Or some of the modern ones like Franzen. And it doesn't need to. Because, to my surprise (as I was afraid I was going to find another "Divergent" or "The Maze Runner", Meyer does an amazing work in balancing the silly (to me) aspects: prince, ball, 'I-want-to-be-pretty-pretty-pretty' with the sci-fi setting, the threat of war, the fear of being too different and ending alone to create an enthralling first volume to "The Lunar Chronicles". It is easy to say this is just a silly story about a girl that just wants to be prettier to find a boy (and in some ways it is), but it is also too entertaining, and with so nice a pace, that you will be willing to forget its shortcomings (really, who is taking care of all those sick people that anyone can come and go from the quarantine center without anyone wondering?).
The best: it is gripping; Cinder is an interesting character; the dystopian/futuristic tone is well set and well developed; it is fun
The worst: you can see where it will end up already on page one; the time frame is a little bit shaky; what kind of security does this country have?, everyone should be dead by now because of the plague; too much emphasis on Cinder's (and everyone else) looks? (and yes, I know it comes as a 'rethinking' of "Cinderella"
Alternatives: "The Hunger Games", "The Handmaid's Tale", the first "Twilight" (even with its shortcomings) or "Harry Potter" (in the chosen one narrative)
7/10
(Original English)
"Cinder" tells the story of, well, Cinder, a cyborg girl that works as a mechanic, has a horrible stepmother, two too self-centered sisters, and a prince that happens to come to her shop with an android she has to repair. Do you need anything else or can you already develop the plot and where it is going to in your head? In case you need something else, this is after Fourth World War, we are in Asia, there is a horrible plague going on, and from the Moon comes the threat of the Lunar people and their queen, the Lunars people with powers that can make people from Earth do things they wouldn't want to.
Yes. It is not Dickens or Proust. Or some of the modern ones like Franzen. And it doesn't need to. Because, to my surprise (as I was afraid I was going to find another "Divergent" or "The Maze Runner", Meyer does an amazing work in balancing the silly (to me) aspects: prince, ball, 'I-want-to-be-pretty-pretty-pretty' with the sci-fi setting, the threat of war, the fear of being too different and ending alone to create an enthralling first volume to "The Lunar Chronicles". It is easy to say this is just a silly story about a girl that just wants to be prettier to find a boy (and in some ways it is), but it is also too entertaining, and with so nice a pace, that you will be willing to forget its shortcomings (really, who is taking care of all those sick people that anyone can come and go from the quarantine center without anyone wondering?).
The best: it is gripping; Cinder is an interesting character; the dystopian/futuristic tone is well set and well developed; it is fun
The worst: you can see where it will end up already on page one; the time frame is a little bit shaky; what kind of security does this country have?, everyone should be dead by now because of the plague; too much emphasis on Cinder's (and everyone else) looks? (and yes, I know it comes as a 'rethinking' of "Cinderella"
Alternatives: "The Hunger Games", "The Handmaid's Tale", the first "Twilight" (even with its shortcomings) or "Harry Potter" (in the chosen one narrative)
7/10
(Original English)
The Earthquake Bird - Susanna Jones
Ambiguous feeling. That is how I felt almost all through "The Earthquake Bird", unsure of what to make of a book with poor style, lame plot, and stereotypical characters, on top of a plain and simplistic image of Tokyo. I was unsure because I was expecting the book to pull off a twist, a surprise, something that would give meaning to the story. But no, it basically ends up in a long and sad whimper that leaves the reader with the feeling of having been had.
It all goes around Lucy, a person which I have the feeling Susanna Jones wants us to infer has some kind of mental illness or developmental disorder, who works as a translator in Japan and has a weird sexual relationship with a guy that works at a noodles shop and also moonlights as a photographer for himself. When one day a woman from her own part in England appears lost and in need of help in Tokyo, a friend of Lucy asks her to help this new expat arrival.
I think Jones was trying to make some kind of meta-metaphorical analysis of being abroad, what makes you leave your 'roots' (cough cough) and want to see new places, and stay there, and how this changes you till you become someone who doesn't belong anywhere, unsure, without attachments, without a way to connect, and how Japan seems to be a particularly good place to some particular kind of foreigner (at least in the time frame in which the novel is set). And she decided to make it some kind of murder mystery to sell it better.
However, she fails miserable. The depiction of Japan and Japanese people (or Tokyo) is really shallow and poor. The depiction of being fish-out-of-water also fails. And the mystery is... non-existent. And Lucy (and Teiji and Lily; heck anyone) makes little sense as a character, her decisions head-scratching-ly stupid and pointless. She seems to be on a mission to make herself miserable, but just for the sake of the plot, because we are given little reason to understand the decisions she takes in order to destroy her life in Tokyo. And the lame 'kind-of-happy' ending...
Bad.
The good: the ambiguous atmosphere; you can read it in one afternoon
The bad: luckily for you it can be read fast, because it is kind of pointless; the characters are totally basic, the plot is totally basic; some developments make zero sense; the listless description of life in Tokyo (it could be anywhere; just putting some Japanese names don't a place make); the resolution (or not)
Alternatives: For another look on Japan, with some mystery thrown into it (or the other way around), let's try Natsuo Kirino, Yusuke Kishi, Miyabe Miyuki, Kyōtarō Nishimura... The list is endless
4/10
(English)
It all goes around Lucy, a person which I have the feeling Susanna Jones wants us to infer has some kind of mental illness or developmental disorder, who works as a translator in Japan and has a weird sexual relationship with a guy that works at a noodles shop and also moonlights as a photographer for himself. When one day a woman from her own part in England appears lost and in need of help in Tokyo, a friend of Lucy asks her to help this new expat arrival.
I think Jones was trying to make some kind of meta-metaphorical analysis of being abroad, what makes you leave your 'roots' (cough cough) and want to see new places, and stay there, and how this changes you till you become someone who doesn't belong anywhere, unsure, without attachments, without a way to connect, and how Japan seems to be a particularly good place to some particular kind of foreigner (at least in the time frame in which the novel is set). And she decided to make it some kind of murder mystery to sell it better.
However, she fails miserable. The depiction of Japan and Japanese people (or Tokyo) is really shallow and poor. The depiction of being fish-out-of-water also fails. And the mystery is... non-existent. And Lucy (and Teiji and Lily; heck anyone) makes little sense as a character, her decisions head-scratching-ly stupid and pointless. She seems to be on a mission to make herself miserable, but just for the sake of the plot, because we are given little reason to understand the decisions she takes in order to destroy her life in Tokyo. And the lame 'kind-of-happy' ending...
Bad.
The good: the ambiguous atmosphere; you can read it in one afternoon
The bad: luckily for you it can be read fast, because it is kind of pointless; the characters are totally basic, the plot is totally basic; some developments make zero sense; the listless description of life in Tokyo (it could be anywhere; just putting some Japanese names don't a place make); the resolution (or not)
Alternatives: For another look on Japan, with some mystery thrown into it (or the other way around), let's try Natsuo Kirino, Yusuke Kishi, Miyabe Miyuki, Kyōtarō Nishimura... The list is endless
4/10
(English)
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