Robyn Hood: Outlaw

I have to recognize that 'superhero' comic books are not my cup of tea. All those vigilante types or creatures with superpowers from this or another planet didn't call my attention when I was younger, even if I read some "Ironman" or "The Fantastic Four" (lent by a schoolmate). I was more into novels, and a little bit into manga and European comic books like "Asterix". Nowadays I don't read many comic books either, but I am interested in them and I am always open to try something new. And here we come to "Robyn Hood: Outlaw" of which the first that called my attention was it cover. It looks cool, I thought. Well, I started reading it. Ah, nice, I thought, even if not particularly original: we are thrown into the story when our heroine comes home and discovers her friend almost dead in her apartment. It's a trap! Robyn Hood has to run away from the police and clear her name. And save her friend, now in the hospital. And mix with some maybe shady types. Etc., etc. Haven't we seen this before? Yes, we have, but curiously or not, I found "Robyn Hood: Outlaw" a very well done work, with interesting characters, nice pace, and a well done plot that, even if not particularly original, never becomes boring and uninteresting. Also the art work is top notch, and it brings the story nicely to life. From the first page we are thrown into the story, and the reader will discover that accompanying our protagonist is lots of fun, with new plot development after new plot development that brings the comic to many different places in a brisk place. This could be one of its downsides, actually, because sometimes we jump from a place to another, or from a new character to another new one in too few pages, all too brusque, without given us time to settle down or digest what we are reading. Minor quibbles, though. "Robyn Hood: Outlaw" is a very entertaining, well done, nicely depicted comic book. I will be waiting for more adventures (or find previous ones) of Robyn Hood. The best: I liked the art work, the characters, the heroine, the atmosphere and the world; quite cool The worst: the plot is a little bit simple and not very original; it ends too brusquely and the same happens within the volume too, with some changes of pace that could have been better done Alternatives: "OnePunch Man", do yourself a favor 8/10 (Original English)

War and Peas: Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers

*Provided by Netgalley (as always a great opportunity to read some amazing works) "War and Peas" is a very funny comic book, with interesting little characters that appear all through its pages that reminded me of early Terry Pratchett, when simple humor and plays on words where the basis of his stories. In "War and Peas" the same happens. You have little vignettes that tell a story in just one, two pages, all of the dark humor kind. And Jonathan Kunz and Elizabeth Pich have done a great job in creating a simple but charming, engaging, tongue in cheek, with lots of dark humor, comic, where recurrent characters like the robot, the dead boy, the witch... have some very funny moments. It is never boring, and it's read in a sitting. On the downside, it is not anything that you haven't seen a hundred times before, because many of these play of words, vignettes, are just variations of many others, and that means that sometimes there will be more chuckles than laughs. And a couple just fall flat (but that could be my sense of humor, more than they being bad per se). The drawing style is simple, but perfect for this kind of comics, where the punchline, the little details, and the humor are the most important part. They convey perfectly the authors' purpose and are very funny. Strongly recommended. The best: the humor and drawing style The worst: not particularly original Further reading: just try Terry Pratchett, or the first volumes of OnePunch Man, for example 7.5/10 (Original English)

Erebos (Erebos) - Ursula Poznanski

Nick is surprised when some of his classmates seem to be very interested in some mysterious CD going around school, all exchanging it very hush hush. Not only so, but some of them are skipping classes and even the basketball training, and it seems it is because of this CD. Nick, our 'cool young hero', tries to find a way into this mysterious world, and finally he does, when one of his classmates gives him a copy of the CD. But it is not a music CD, but a video-game... and playing it will change Nick's life forever... "Erebos" is an entertaining YA novel, where a mysterious game seems to be taking over the lives of some high school students with dangerous consequences. It is all light enough (well, there are some not so light moments in the book but they are not really dwelt into) and in general the story is quite simple and nothing becomes too complicated. Poznanski does an OK job in developing the story and the characters, and in making the plot engaging, even if one has to wonder why our 'hero' takes some of the decisions he takes, because in many cases his character (and some of the the other characters in the book) development is rushed and clumsily handed. And the book also expends too much time in the 'game' world. But it never becomes boring, and you will turn the pages waiting to see what will happen next. Don't go expecting anything that will change your life, but an entertaining book that will fill a couple of summer afternoons and you will be in for a threat. The best: easy to read; it becomes addictive, like the game; the mysterious atmosphere The worst: the writing; there doesn't really happen much; poor and superficial character development; too many pages expended on the "Erebos" world by Nick and the author The skinny: YA for the summer, without much depth or complications Other options: I've seen many people comparing it to "Ready Player One"; as I haven't read that one, I can't say anything about it; I think "The Hunger Games" series or "Harry Potter" are way better YA than this one, and with way better characters. 6.5/10 (Catalan Translation by Carlota Vallès Ferré & Michael Steinmetz )

Метро 2033 (Metro 2033) - Dmitry Glukhovsky

This is a disappointment. A futuristic, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi novel where the only survivors seem to live in the metro of Moscow could make for a thrilling read, right? Oh, you would be wrong... "Metro 2033" tells the story of Artyom, who gets the mission to get to Polis to alert of a non-very-clear danger that can kill everyone that lives in the Metro, the poor, lonely survivors after everyone else died in a kaboom end of the world full of nuclear bombs, where soldiers were always calling home to ask about their wives and daughters and the only hope was to hide and survive in the stations underground... These poor souls still alive eat mushrooms and pigs (?), survive on filtered water (really?) and have some kind of electricity and the economy is based on the exchange of cartridges. Artyom has this very difficult mission to cross different metro stations walking (cough cough) given to him by Hunter, you know, cool name, because the 'Dark Ones' are invading his station and probably the whole world. Cue Artyom saying, yeah, why not, and going to the next station with a group of people trying to put a telegraph between both stations (bear with me). Pretty soon a dark and mysterious sound almost kills everyone and only Artyom can save them. The group ends getting to the station where another random character tells Artyom to join him to go to another station. End of the story. Or it could end here. Because Glukhovsky's lame attempt at a novel is based on this pattern: Artyom meets a person in a station, they walk from one station to another and along the way a mysterious, dark and magical force tries to stop them, but they finally get to the next station, where, for some mysterious reason, Artyom parts with his previous partner to join forces with another for the next trip to another station where... A loop. A boring, lame loop where it is all always the same. Ironically Glukhovsky thinks he is making some groundbreaking novel where the metro represents the real world because he talks about Communism or Socialism or Nazis that have taken over some of the stations. But instead of the book showing, the characters developing and things happening, all goes: shoots, this group is blah blah blah because, I, the author, is telling you so, and they represent blah blah blah... It is a mess, it is boring, it is repetitive. And that without getting into the absence of female characters (like, just one, close to the end of the book) and the constant messages about them being wives and daughters and the need to protect them (hu?). Horrible. Worse than the metro at rush hour (I know, lame; like this novel). The best: well, I have a soft spot for sci-fi, but here... The worst: everything: character construction and development, plot development, that women are 'wives and mothers', the 'I meet someone, problem, we part, I meet someone, problem, we part' way the novel develops, the idea that humanity would have changed so much in so little, no one could believe that anyone would have survived in a so poorly organized metro, the magical elements, the sci-fi elements, the militarism, the in-your-face messages that the author telegraphs and writes to show how deep the story is... I could go on and on for ever... but it's almost 2033. Oh, and the poor translation, littered with spelling and grammar mistakes. Instead of this: Read "Dune", "The Forever War", "Stranger in Strange Land", "Cryptonomicon", "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch", "The Handmaid's Tale"... If you want some funny and silly sci-fi, try Shinichi Hoshi's short stories. There are too many options to lose time with this one. 3/10 (English translation by Natasha Randall)

終着駅(ターミナル)殺人事件 - Kyōtarō Nishimura (西村 京太郎)

Another Nishimura novel; it must be that time of the year when I want to read about train timetables. "終着駅(ターミナル)殺人事件", or "The case of the murder at the terminal station", is your quintessential Nishimura novel: Totsugawa and Kamei (here Sakurai or others don't have more than a passing mention) investigating some mysterious deaths that have a lot to do with trains. Here, it is a group of seven friends from Aomori who get killed one by one, the first one dying at Ueno Station just before the start of a trip of the group together back to their hometown. Kamei, who is also from the north, is one of the first policemen at the crime scene and pretty soon Totsugawa and the team are investigating the case. Curiously, though, in this case we get little of the investigation, as Nishimura expends a lot of time with the group of friends, starting from the very beginning of the book, when we get the chance to see them meeting again, getting on the train, etc. It is a very good start to the novel and shows that Nishimura knew how to create fleshed out and interesting characters. Unfortunately for the reader, this doesn't translate through the length of the novel, as we get bogged down with too many unnecessary conversations and too many pages around the speed of trains, or the stops a train makes along the way. This is your basic problem with a Nishimura novel: if you don't like trains, you will hate him. He expends always too much time talking, describing, contemplating trains, time tables, ways to go from point A to B to explain the mystery, instead of expending time developing characters, making a good mystery or making things thrilling. For example, there is a moment when there is a possible 'closed room murder'. Instead of dwelling onto it, he goes back to his trains. This doesn't mean the novel is boring, no, because it is one of his best, starting with the group of suspects/victims and following with our policemen Totsugawa and Kamei. But knowing that he can create amazing set-ups, it is a pity that he seems to be unable to deliver on the expectations he himself creates. The best: it is not your average Nishimura novel with hundreds of conversations about train tables (I mean, it is, but not as much as others); it is also not so repetitive as some of his other novels; the beginning, as always, is great, and introduces the mystery and the characters nicely; Totsugawa, Kamei and company are always fun to be with The worst: it is still about trains; the answer to the mystery... well, it is not much of a mystery Alternatives: any of his other novels if you like this one or anything like this; you have other options in Japanese mystery novels: Higashino Keigo, Kirino Natsuo, Miyabe Miyuki, Kishi Yusuke, Akimitsu Takagi or the grand Edogawa Ranpo; you can also go to other languages and places like Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie or more modern ones like Val McDermid, Camilla Läckberg or Henning Mankell. Options, too many options... 6.5/10 (Original Japanese Version)

La mort del pare (Min kamp #1) - Karl Ove Knausgård

A book about a guy rambling and mumbling about his past, where he talks about trying to date girls, smoking, getting drunk and his relationship with his family. For almost 500 pages. This is a recipe for disaster in the making, one would think, a boring, self-indulgent, vacuous work. Happily for us, even if "Min Kamp" volume 1 has a little bit of all of this, Karl Ove Knausgård does an amazing job of making his life, his musings and his story with his family a very interesting one. Even if he is actually not telling much. The story is autobiographical and tells the author's life in his youth till, well, the death of his father and his relationships with friends and family. It goes for pages on end about an end of the year party or dwells into his relationship with his brother. It explains his failure in becoming a famous musician. Or how he wakes up early to go writing. It all will look kind of familiar. One, because it may remind the reader of their family one way or another. Two, because this is a story of death, booze, violence and, in some ways, redemption. So, why is this any good? First, because it is engaging. Even if Karl Ove Knausgård is not saying anything special, he tells it in a way that even going to the funeral parlor becomes interesting, all the little details making each of the moments, story and situations he tells interesting. You may not like the 'hero' of the story, but you will be not bored while entering into his mind and seeing his actions, fears, and interactions. Second, because, at least in this Catalan translation, it is beautifully written. How close it is to the original is difficult to know, but the use of language and the way the story is developed is great, with some moments, as the moment Karl Ove visits his father and drinks with him just, plain and simple, great. This is not a book about a mystery, thrills or people finding treasures. But it is as much interesting and enjoyable as if it was. "Min Kamp" volume 1 is a book that fulfills its mission of creating a relatable character and it leaves with a desire for more. Well, there are five more volumes. The best: the writing, the way the story develops and envelops the reader in its world The worst: it can be seen as another booze-violence-rebellion kind of story Other options: not that I have read many of this kind of books, but Lucia Berlin, for example, would be an option 7/10 (Catalan translation Anna Llisterri based on the English one)

Djevelen holder lyset (When the Devil Holds the Candle) - Karin Fossum

A couple of teenage friends, Andreas and Zipp, are bored, without much to do. They go around bullying immigrants, stealing purses from women going on a stroll with their babies and breaking and entering in old ladies' houses. One of the last goes wrong and silly things start to happen. All the while the police and its detectives do nothing. That is basically the plot of lame and silly "When the Devil Holds the Candle" a novel just because the cover says it is a novel. It is 230-pages-long of stupid plot and character decision after stupid plot and character decision. None of the motives of the characters make much sense, and even if Karin Fossum tries to infuse them with lives and motives and justify bad decisions, it all ends up being risible, laughable, a bad joke. Even if the book is short, it could actually have been one forth, because there is so much padding and stretching without end that it makes things crawl to a stop. This is no crime/mystery novel. This is just a sad excuse of a book. The best: how the author tries to make the characters human The worst: everything else: it's a mess, the character's decisions make no sense, the plot is silly and worth of a rubbish bin, there is no mystery, there is no point to the whole proceedings Other options: any other mystery novel; if you want one with actual character development you can have Agatha Christie and Miss Marple; if you want them from the cold, you can pick from Camilla Läckberg to Henning Mankell; you can go Japanese and pick Miyabe Miyuki or Natsuo Kirino... Anything else but this. 1/10 (English translation by Felicity David)