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Fushigi Yûgi 15 by Yuu Watase: B

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From the back cover:
Miaka must reenter The Universe of the Four Gods and collect the seven magic stones that contain her soulmate Taka’s lost memories… or else risk losing him forever! Taka has always been the one who protected Miaka, so will she be able to handle this new responsibility? And there’s something unsettling about the new exchange student at Miaka’s high school…

Review:
This volume was a little better than its predecessor, but Part 2 as a whole is still strange. I kind of get more of an Alice 19th vibe from it, with the focus on school and freaky incidents abounding. This isn’t bad, precisely, it just feels like a completely different manga in these sections. Hardly any time is spent in the world of the book, but at least there’s a couple of nice chapters with Hotohori, Houki, and Boushin.

I still don’t get why these magic stones are important to Suzaku or the demon god. Okay, so Suzaku needs to stay powerful so he can keep the demon god bound. Got that bit. Apparently the fact that a wall in an ancient shrine bearing his image has been damaged somehow affects his ability to do this. Oookay. Suzaku said his power was based on love. Eh? So… Suzaku can only be powerful if Miaka saves Taka and the two of them live happily ever after? What a lame god!

Good points: Boushin! Yui, being feisty and confident. A student election including creepy new exchange student with neat crowd reactions.

Fushigi Yûgi 14 by Yuu Watase: B-

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From the back cover:
The voice of the god Suzaku is invading Miaka’s thoughts, and she is given a new mission: to restore the balance of power between the four gods. To do it, Miaka must defeat a new foe—a rising, monstrous power with ambitions to take over all of the universes!

Review:
Meh.

Here’s a quote from one of Watase’s little sidebars that completely applies to my feelings about this volume: “It seems that since volume 13 ended so satisfyingly, there are some people who find it hard to read Part 2!”

Even though we’re seeing the characters some more, and this should probably make me glad, I really believe it should’ve ended in the last volume. The impact of the story is now lessened by having it continue. Even though the villain makes a lot more sense to me now than it did when I saw the OVA, overall the whole plot is rather weak, and I still don’t understand how finding a bunch of stones helps out Suzaku.

Good points: a few genuinely amusing panels and a wonderful cover image of Miaka.

Fushigi Yûgi 13 by Yuu Watase: A+

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From the back cover:
Nakago has entered the real world to collect on Yui’s promise to grant him the third and final Seiryu wish. But his wish may have the greatest consequence of all for Yui! Miaka summons Suzaku, but is it too late to protect her world and the world of the book?

Review:
This volume was incredibly sniff-inducing! Starting on page 142, I must’ve teared up at least three separate times. Even Nakago gains some sympathy, but I wish we’d learned who the one person who could fulfill him was (he mentioned this to Soi a volume or so back.)

The real world awesomeness continues, especially the reactions of the regular folk to all the bizarre goings-on. I also really liked the end, and seeing a much more mature-looking Miaka preparing to enter high school. I hope she retains this courageous, non-spazzy personality for the rest of the volumes. I don’t remember the OVA well enough to say for certain.

Fushigi Yûgi 12 by Yuu Watase: A+

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From the back cover:
A god is summoned, a wish granted, and all is not right with Miaka Yuuki! The good empire of Konan is overrun with enemies; Celestial Warrior powers are useless; and Miaka finds herself back in the real world unable to help her friends! Can a young woman transform herself from a priestess back into a simple girlfriend?

Review:
I really wanted to watch the corresponding anime episodes after reading this page-turner! I’d forgotten a lot of what happened, like Yui’s wishes and all of their consequences.

The conflict between countries has resulted in war, with the Suzaku warriors participating in the battle. Perhaps this should be the most interesting part of the story, but I personally really loved all the stuff going on back in the real world. I’m not normally a particular Tamahome fan, but I quite liked him in this volume.

Fushigi Yûgi 11 by Yuu Watase: A-

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From the back cover:
The first shinzahou treasure from the northern country of Hokkan was stolen from Miaka, and the only treasure left is in the western country of Sairou—and both Miaka and her friend-turned-mortal-enemy Yui are intent on getting the treasure for themselves! But Sairou isn’t a frozen wasteland of forgotten dreams and ghosts like Hokkan. It’s a vibrant, living desert country, whose inhabitants are veterans of the last clash between priestesses and gods!

Review:
Flaws in this volume are few. Aside from a very annoying response to some breakup angst (wondering if she’d done something that made Tamahome hate her), Miaka isn’t too annoying. Another person is added to the tally of those who’ve glimpsed her rack, however. Oh, and there are panty shots, too.

The good stuff includes dramatic losses on both sides, touching bonding between Tasuki and Chiriko, progress on the summoning front, and the appearance of three celestial warriors of Byakko. The love story of Suzuno and Tatara parallels that of Miaka and Tamahome and actually makes the latest breakup angst between the latter pair have some impact. I totally want Byakko Kaiden now.

The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket: B

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From the back cover:
Dear Reader,

The word “carnivorous,” which appears in the title of this book, means “meat-eating,” and once you have read such a bloodthirsty word, there is no reason to read any further. This carnivorous volume contains such a distressing story that consuming any of its contents would be far more stomach-turning than even the most imbalanced meal.

To avoid causing discomfort, it would be best if I didn’t mention any of the unnerving ingredients of this story, particularly a confusing map, an ambidextrous person, an unruly crowd, a wooden plank, and Chabo the Wolf Baby.

Sadly for me, my time is filled with researching and recording the displeasing and disenchanting lives of the Baudelaire orphans. But your time might be better filled with something more palatable, such as eating your vegetables, or feeding them to someone else.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:
I had trouble getting into this one, and read it in a few spurts separated by as much as a week. Again, not much happens. Pretty much the main thing of note is that one question that had been around since the beginning of the series is answered. Nice, but…

As the orphans themselves admit, they didn’t really learn anything new in this attempt. And since I primarily enjoy these because of the overarching mysteries and not because of the supposed dangers of the plight in which the siblings now find themselves, I came away underwhelmed.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: B+

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From the back cover:
The light that streams from the Moonstone, a yellow diamond of unearthly quality, is like that of the harvest moon. Rachel Verinder receives the stone for her 18th birthday. But on that very night, it is stolen. Although all members of the household must give account for the day’s events, Betteredge offers the most insightful renderings. His story is made all the more enjoyable by his uproariously honest assessments of human nature and his reliance on Robinson Crusoe, a book he firmly believes answers the fundamental questions of life.

Review:
The Moonstone has been hailed as the first English detective story, and is well worth reading for historical merits alone. That said, I found the mystery here to be a shade lackluster. From my modern perspective, certain conclusions that were obvious to me were overly explained, and I didn’t find it very hard to guess the perpetrator after a number of facts came to light.

So, as a mystery, it’s not going to be the tightest or cleverest you’ve ever read. As a story, however, it’s very entertaining and often quite funny! It’s told from a variety of first person narratives, as each person concerned with the loss of the moonstone has been charged with committing the things they witnessed to paper, but not to comment on the things that they personally did not know at the time. Particularly amusing are Gabriel Betteredge, the steward of the house, and Miss Clack, a proselytizing cousin whom everyone finds extremely distasteful.

Fushigi Yûgi 10 by Yuu Watase: B

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From the back cover:
Miaka Yuuki is an ordinary junior-high-school student who is transported into the world of a book, The Universe of the Four Gods. Thinking that her mission has failed, she runs off to the land of Sairou, where a warrior of her arch enemy, the God Seiryu, finds her! And before the adventure is over, Miaka will find out who are allies, who are enemies, and who is determined to see her dead!

Review:
This volume was pretty durn silly, but not precisely bad. First of all, I lost track of how many times Miaka wound up with a guy on top of her. That was, like, the recurring theme of the volume. She acted plenty stupid, as well, and I’m going to need to start a tally box of how many times the names Miaka or Tamahome are called out into the void with lots of exclamation points. Lastly, there’s no progress on the shinzahou front—just a lot of trials and tribulations at the hands of the Seiryu folk.

Still, Miaka learns a couple of important things this volume, someone returns and acts unexpectedly, and Tomo’s illusions are cool. I quite liked the one to which he subjects Miaka, particularly seeing Yui and another classmate teasing her about a boy.

The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket: A

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From the back cover:
Dear Reader,

Before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible, you should probably know why. This book is the only one which describes every last detail of the Baudelaire children’s miserable stay at Heimlich Hospital, which makes it one of the most dreadful books in the world.

There are many pleasant things to read about, but this book contains none of them. Within its pages are such burdensome details as a suspicious shopkeeper, unnecessary surgery, an intercom system, anesthesia, heart-shaped balloons, and some very startling news about a fire. Clearly you do not want to read about such things.

I have sworn to research this story, and to write it down as best I can, so I should know that this book is something best left on the ground, where you undoubtedly found it.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:
I really liked this one, as it felt just a shade darker in tone somehow, but must confess that nothing much really happened in it. Really, Olaf’s scheme takes a back seat, even in the orphans’ own minds, to discovering what the Library of Records in the hospital can tell them about the mystery of the fire that claimed the lives of their parents.

It’s nifty how the orphans have become much more self-reliant in these past two books. In fact, there was no Mr. Poe at all in this one, as they’ve completely given up expecting any sort of help from him. I wish my faith that they’ll emerge from Olaf’s clutches unscathed could be chalked up to their own skills, but I never truly believe that they’re in any jeopardy. Maybe Snicket’ll surprise me and kill one off; that’d be Whedony.

The Lighthouse by P. D. James: A-

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From the back cover:
Combe Island off the Cornish coast of England has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty. Owned for centuries by the same family, it now serves as a place where over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority can come to find serenity in conditions of guaranteed security. But when one of its distinguished visitors is found hanging from Combe’s famous lighthouse, an apparent murder victim, the peace of the island is shattered.

Review:
What an improvement over The Murder Room. Although the mystery is a good one, and the atmosphere of the island (both threatening and peaceful) is skillfully rendered, it’s the development of the members of the investigative squad that I liked best.

I still don’t completely buy Dalgliesh’s relationship, though I cannot precisely say why. I did love Inspector Miskin’s reaction to it, however, and the thoughts and decisions it prompted her to consider and to make. When Dalgliesh is sidelined by illness, responsibility for the case shifts to his team, and that’s where things truly take off. As Miskin takes up the challenge of the lead role in the investigation, I was instantly more invested for her own personal and professional sake. Learning more about the personality and abilities of Sergeant Benton-Smith was also a boon.

The solution to the mystery is rather lackluster, bearing too much in common with another recent book in the series. I would’ve been more put out except for the fact that the novel seems to clearly be about the investigators, and not the crime.

It seems possible this might be the final Dalgliesh novel, with the man himself poised on the threshold of marriage, Kate with renewed spirit and new possibilities of her own, and Benton-Smith fitting in with the group and establishing himself as someone who’ll go places. If this is the end, then I’d be very satisfied.