Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Michelle Smith

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman: B+

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From the back cover:
“Beware the seven blessings…”

When she first utters these words, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart doesn’t know their meaning. But when an employee of her late father hears them, he dies of fear. Thus begins Sally’s terrifying journey into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, in search of clues that will solve the puzzle of her father’s death. Pursued by villains and cutthroats at every turn, she at last uncovers two dark mysteries. One involves the opium trade; the other, a stolen ruby of enormous value. Sally soon learns that she is the key to both—and that it’s worth her very life to find out why.

Review:
This made me cry, dangit. I swear, I am such a sucker for kind fathers. It’s ridiculous.

Anyway, it took me a little while to get into this book, because there were a few mysteries going on simultaneously and nothing really made sense for a couple of chapters. Sally’s coolness as a character really only emerged once she’d left the care of a distant relation and come to live with a photographer and his sister. Their business was in financial straits, and she delighted in devising ways to get it back on track. I loved that she was a competent girl who excelled at bookkeeping and numbers. The supporting cast were also lively and fun, and I snickered more than once.

Anton Lesser narrated the audiobook and he was fabulous. He had distinct voices for each character, and I’ve never heard a man achieve such a realistic voice for a woman as he did for Mrs. Holland. It really added a lot to the experience.

The actual mystery was a little too Holmesian for my taste, what with secret societies, sparkly jewels, and ties to the Mysterious East. I also didn’t like the use of opium as a means to impart revelations upon the heroine. Still, I enjoyed it well enough to continue on with the series. The library has two more narrated by Lesser, so I will definitely be seeking those out.

Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester: A

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From the back cover:
April 1803. The Peace of Amiens is breaking down. Napoleon is building ships and amassing an army just across the Channel. Horatio Hornblower—who, at age twenty-seven, has already distinguished himself as one of the most daring and resourceful officers in the Royal Navy—commands the three-masted Hotspur on a dangerous reconnaissance mission that evolves, as war breaks out, into a series of spectacular confrontations. All the while, the introspective young commander struggles to understand his new bride and mother-in-law, his officers and crew, and his own “accursed unhappy temperament”—matters that trouble him more, perhaps, than any of Bonaparte’s cannonballs.

Review:
It took me over a month to finish this, and I’m not sure why since I really did like it a lot. It might’ve been because the problems faced by Hornblower and crew were often exhausting. Like the weeks of raging storms they endured as their supply of drinking water dwindled away, culminating in a mad dash to port in unfavorable winds, necessitating all sorts of changes in navigation and sails. When they were finally free to collapse into heaps, I too went ‘phew’ and wanted to have a bit of a rest.

The characteristics that have made the other Hornblower books so enjoyable were present here as well: interesting and endearing characters, daring exploits coupled with “inexhaustible ingenuity,” and access to the title character’s fascinating thought processes. There were a couple of things that bugged me, but they weren’t major. One was the lack of a map, since the details of a certain bit of French coastline were of particular importance, and the other was the treatment of Hornblower’s seasickness. I’m not sure about this, but I believe that in the other books I’ve read (written earlier, occurring chronologically later) he’d suffer for the first few days at sea and then be fine afterwards. Here, it was a recurring problem.

I learned some new words from this book, but none were as potentially amusing as “ullage,” which means “the amount that a container lacks of being full.” So, next time you open a bag of potato chips to find its contents woefully scant, astound your friends by proclaiming, “What an abhorrent surfeit of ullage!”

Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George: B+

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From the back cover:
When thirteen-year-old Matthew Whateley goes missing from Bredgar Chambers, a prestigious public school in the heart of West Sussex, aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley receives a call for help from the lad’s housemaster, who also happens to be an old school chum. Thus, the inspector, his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, and forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James find themselves once again outside their jurisdiction and deeply involved in the search for a child—and then, tragically, for a child killer.

Questioning prefects, teachers, and pupils closest to the dead boy, Lynley and Havers sense that something extraordinarily evil is going on behind Bredgar Chambers’s cloistered walls. But as they begin to unlock the secrets of this closed society, the investigation into Matthew’s death leads them perilously close to their own emotional wounds—and blinds them to the signs of another murder in the making…

Review:
While I did enjoy this book, and felt that the mystery was probably the best in the series so far, it had some pretty significant flaws that ultimately kept it out of the “A” range.

In the previous two books, it had been the personal lives of and interactions between the main detectives that I enjoyed best, with the case itself a distant second. Not so with this installment. I appreciated the decision to show Lynley and Havers working together quite companionably now; any further angsting about possible insuitability would’ve been frustrating; the time was right to move away from that theme.

Doing so, however, left a hole that ended up being only partially filled. There’s a subplot involving Havers’s family and also one involving a couple (friends of Lynley’s) who’ve suffered a chain of miscarriages. The former was okay, though its outcome was predictable, but the latter appeared so sparsely that when it did intrude upon the narrative, it was annoying rather than affecting.

The case itself offered many twists, and though I had a gut feeling about the culprit relatively early on, I was still swayed into suspecting various folks at various times. I thought it got a little convoluted near the end, but otherwise it was good.

Hikaru no Go 11 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata: A

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From the back cover:
Hikaru’s classmate Ochi has won enough games to guarantee his place among the top three players who will pass the pro test. Hikaru, on the other hand, still needs to win more games, and he’ll soon face his friend Waya and Ochi himself, who has been preparing for their match with Akira’s help! When the dust clears, who will be left standing?

Review:
The pro test concluded with this volume. I really enjoyed the match between Hikaru and Waya, and how when Hikaru got stuck, he asked himself what Sai would do in a given situation. There was more focus on Sai this volume than there has been of late, as he began to realize how much Hikaru has improved and how he is becoming a capable stand-in for Sai himself.

I would’ve liked to have seen more of the match between Hikaru and Ochi, after all the set-up it received, culminating in a confrontation wherein Hikaru learned that Akira had been training Ochi nightly and deduced that it was all Akira’s attempt to gauge Hikaru’s strength through Ochi. There was a really cool panel where Ochi and Hikaru were sitting at the board with Akira and Sai behind them, respectively. But alas, much of their match happened off-camera. That said, I really liked that it was from Isumi’s perspective that we learned the result, since it meant the end of his chances of passing this time around.

The volume finished off with Hikaru doing some nostalgic eavesdropping on the middle school Go club to which he used to belong and with his mom wondering whether she ought to fret about his unusual profession. Little touches like these are what make this series truly excellent. I’m sad that I now have to wait until May for the next installment.

Hikaru no Go 10 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata: A-

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From the back cover:
The main round of the pro test has begun. Everyone’s feeling the pressure—no one more so than Hikaru’s friend Isumi, who has failed the test twice before. Fighting off his feelings of self-doubt, Isumi faces his next opponent, who turns out to be Hikaru. But a careless mistake lands the pair in an awkward position!

Review:
This entire volume was full of pro test goodness. Placements shifted a bit throughout these chapters, but it was always clear who was ahead and who’d fallen behind. The complete chart of each player’s wins and losses was also included at one point, which was neat to see. I liked that the focus wasn’t solely on Hikaru.

Once again, though all of the pro test stuff was great, my favorite chapters were those where Akira is dealing with his “fixation” on Shindo, as Ochi (who received a couple lessons from Akira) put it. I particularly liked the last chapter, where Akira recreated his first game against Sai for Ochi to explain his obsession. Ochi was appropriately astonished.

The art was really great, too, though that’s not unusual. I was struck again, though, by the variety among the character designs. No one looked the same, but Obata didn’t need to resort to unrealistic gimmicks to distinguish between characters. This series also has a lot of just average-looking people in it, which is something I appreciate.

The Moonlight That Surrounds Me 1 (Japanese) by Saki Hiwatari: C

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From the back cover:
Rin and Alice have brought closure to their past lives and are living happily. Their son, Ren, is a completely normal boy. One day, his guardian angels appear to him. But what is their true form!? And what is the power closed inside Ren!? Inherited thoughts and abilities… The first volume of the long-awaited Please Save My Earth second-generation series has arrived!

Review:
Alas, this is not very good. I didn’t expect much, but reckoned for something better than this.

Ren is likeable (and kind of goofy), but because he couldn’t resist bragging about his parents’ powers at school, everyone there thinks he’s a liar. His only friend is Kachiko, daughter of ESPer Mikuro. In the first of three stories, the spirits of Shion and Mokuren protect him from a villain practically straight out of Sailor Moon.

In the second story, Kachiko and her tiresome angst about her father spending time at his ESP research job in America take center stage. It grows worse when Shion gets involved and imbues Ren with powers so he can go harrass Mikuro for making Kachiko sad. I feel like Shion’s dignity has been sullied.

In the last story, Rin has no memory of promising his son to tell him about Shion and Mokuren, so everyone worries about him acting strangely. Turns out, Shion has been “hijacking his consciousness” because he wanted to interact with Ren.

Also, Shion and Mokuren can now apparently appear in the physical realm to those with ESP ability. The only scrap of explanation given for why they never did this in the first series (that I recall, at any rate) is a lack of motivation. Uh-huh. Shion was pretty motivated to get those passwords.

Lastly, Hiwatari’s artistic style has changed a great deal and I don’t like it as well. Jinpachi looks absolutely nothing like the character did in the original. I realize they’ve grown up, but the rest are still recognizable, even if it did take me a couple of seconds to realize who Shion was upon his first appearance.

I doubt I’ll be continuing with this series. Hiwatari herself admitted she doesn’t know where things are headed. The only truly interesting parts to me were the moments where Alice and Rin were alone together, or when it became clear that Haruhiko still has feelings for Alice, and even those weren’t enough to quell the notion that maybe I should’ve just let the original stand on its own.

Demons Are Forever by Julie Kenner: B

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From the back cover:
It isn’t easy when your daughter’s figured out that her mom’s a demon hunter—and wants to grow up to be just like her. Or when you suspect your dead husband used the forces of darkness to filch the body of another human. Moreover, Kate’s acquired a precious but deadly item that every demon within commuting distance wants. With husband woes playing havoc with her emotions, an ambitious teenage protégée at her heels, and hell to pay, this stay-at-home mom is putting in a lot of overtime.

Review:
I really can’t explain how I wound up kind of addicted to this series. It’s got some major flaws: the demonic threats usually aren’t very interesting, the turns in the story are often predictable, and the protagonist is still pretty bland even after three books.

In this particular installment, a new hunter is introduced who could not possibly be more of a Faith clone, so her inevitable betrayal is not one bit surprising. There’s also no suspense regarding the item the demons are seeking, since the story structure goes like this:

1. An old ring with a ruby gemstone is found in ex-husband’s possessions.
2. Demons demand to be given “the stone.”
3. Good guys are clueless.
4. Readers roll their eyes. “Oh, golly gee, could it be the ring?!”

And yet… I’m kind of caught up in Kate’s dilemma over finding out the soul of her first husband is still around. The ending also promises all kinds of interesting things concerning this plot line, so I find myself actually annoyed that the next volume won’t be out until July. How did this happen?

The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey: B-

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From the back cover:
When they found the stranger stabbed to death in the queue outside the theatre, it was his complete lack of identity which struck everyone as very odd. The labels on his clothes were missing and nobody came forward to claim him. Inspector Grant of the CID has no choice but to travel deep into the theatrical world in his efforts to build up a picture of the nameless man. As the picture builds, Grant must cast his net ever wider as the dead man and the murderer slowly give up their secrets.

Review:
Luck and fingerprints. That’s how Grant seemed to operate. Oh, and much theorizing in advance of the facts with a dash of foreigner-bashing thrown in for good measure.

As the case progressed along by a series of coincidences, I was initially annoyed; it really didn’t make for much of a story. Grant had no clue there was a witness until one showed up to talk to him. And then he just so happened to run into a man fitting the description given by the witness while walking down a London street one evening. There wasn’t much delving into character.

By the end, though, it seemed more like Tey was doing this on purpose to thwart the image of the omniscient detective so prevalent in crime literature of this period. Many, if not most, of Grant’s hunches and assumptions were proven incorrect. He failed to think of things that could have significant bearing upon the case. In fact, he did not actually solve it, though there is closure on the point. For the novelty of that alone, even if the mystery itself wasn’t that great, I enjoyed the book.

Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George: A

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From the back cover:
The career of playwright Joy Sinclair comes to an abrupt end on an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands when someone drives an eighteen-inch dirk through her neck. Called upon to investigate the case in a country where they have virtually no authority, aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, grapple for both a motive and a murderer.

Emotions run deep in this highly charged drama, for the list of suspects soon includes Britain’s foremost actress, its most successful theatrical producer, and the woman Lynley loves. He and Havers must tread carefully through the complicated terrain of human relationships, while they work to solve a case rooted in the darkest corners of the past and the unexplored regions of the human heart.

Review:
Although I thought the mystery here was better than in the first novel in the series, I still found it to be less interesting than the developing relationship between Lynley and Havers. Payment in Blood was set fifteen months after the events in the first book, and found Lynley and Havers still working together, but not on the same page regarding the partnership. Lynley, in fact, shuddered at the idea of its being permanent, while Havers soon demonstrated that, though he irritated her immensely, she felt a great deal of loyalty to him and would fight to protect him.

I wondered that Lynley did not recuse himself from this case when he found that one of his close friends (he didn’t realize yet that he loved her) was technically a suspect, but the tense conversations he and Helen shared were so riveting that I didn’t mind very much. The resultant jealousy Lynley experienced on finding her there with another man led him to twist facts to suit his conviction that her lover was the murderer. Feeling her superior to be on the wrong track, and desirous of protecting his job and reputation, Havers began her own secret investigation into other areas of the mystery, and eventually Lynley’s friends arrayed against him to confront him about the single-mindedness of his pursuit. All of this was excellent.

The mystery itself was pretty good and featured a more defined cast of suspects than the previous book. The conclusion was exciting, surprising, and emotionally satisfying. And really—who could ask for more than that?

California Demon by Julie Kenner: B

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From the back cover:
Welcome to San Diablo—the perfect place to raise a couple of kids and a lot of Hell, especially if you’re Kate Connor, retired demon hunter. Now, after fourteen years as a suburban housewife, raising two kids, and supporting her husband’s political ambitions, she’s rejoined the workforce… well, secretly, at least. Between fending off demon attacks, trying to figure out why the mysterious new teacher at the high school seems so strangely familiar, and keeping a watchful eye on her daughter’s growing infatuation with a surfer dude, Kate is the busiest—and most dangerous—soccer mom on the block.

Review:
This was a marked improvement over the first book in the series. The book started slowly, with most of the first half dealing with errands and other family issues and the demon stuff feeling like an afterthought. The action eventually picked up, but the plot never transcended its exceedingly flimsy state. However, this time it actually brought up all sorts of things that affected Kate personally, so I didn’t mind all that much.

Kate was still a rather bland protagonist, but I liked the major personal dilemma she had to face in this book, and also the interactions she had with her daughter. The introduction of rogue demon hunter, David Long, brought a lot to the story, and I also appreciated the continuity regarding the failing marriage of Kate’s best friend.

These books are still totally fluff, but they’re sometimes surprisingly thoughtful regarding how Kate’s first marriage still continues to cast its shadow over her life. I am now officially interested to see what happens next.

The Breaker by Minette Walters: B+

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From the back cover:
Twelve hours after Kate Sumner’s brutally murdered body washes up on the beach, her traumatized 3-year-old daughter is found wandering the streets alone. At first, the prime suspect is a young actor, obsessed with pornography. But now, the local English constable has doubts about the victim’s husband. Was he really out of town when she was killed? And why does the child scream every time her father comes near her?

Holding readers in an exhilarating state of anticipation, British author Minette Walters guides them through a startling maze where nothing is at it seems, and even the innocent tell lies.

Review:
The Breaker was a lot different than the other English mysteries I’ve read. Instead of introducing a community of suspects, there were only a few, and details of their personality were revealed only gradually, sometimes shifting when lies were discovered. The role of the local police constabulary in the investigation was given more prominence, with PC Nick Ingram turning out to be the most likable character. The atmosphere was also darker and more grim.

I found the mystery itself to be good, and had no idea who would turn out to be the culprit. The stories of suspects and witnesses changed often, and I also liked that even when caught, the perpetrator still didn’t divulge the entirety of what had really happened. Another neat sidestepping of convention involved the idea of the intuitive leap. In other mysteries, an investigator would have a sudden flash of the (possibly unusual) manner in which the crime was committed, and it’d turn out to be right. Not here, though. PC Ingram made quite a lot of very plausible suggestions that weren’t always proved correct.

This was the first book I’d read by Walters. I’ll be reading more.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: A+

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Book description:
Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility is a wonderfully entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two starkly different sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. While Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm, her younger sister is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor’s reason nor Marianne’s passion can lead them to perfect happiness.

Startling secrets, unexpected twists, and heartless betrayals interrupt the marriage games that follow. Filled with satiric wit and subtle characterizations, Sense and Sensibility teaches that true love requires a balance of reason and emotion.

Review:
I had never read this before. And I call myself an Austen fan!

There is much to recommend this book, but primarily I would say that the characterizations were its best asset. It can’t be easy to create a very sensible character like Elinor, and yet perfectly convey that she is also a person of great feeling and compassion or to create a very emotional one like Marianne, and yet also make clear that she isn’t flighty or stupid. Additionally, Austen populates the novel with a host of memorable minor characters, at whose expense she occasionally engages in some breezily skewering satire. Here’s a favorite passage of mine:

Sir John was loud in his admiration at the end of every song and as loud in his conversation with the others while every song lasted. Lady Middleton frequently called him to order, wondered how any one’s attention could be diverted from music for a moment, and asked Marianne to sing a particular song which Marianne had just finished.

If pressed to note a flaw, the only thing I could mention is the character of Edward, and Elinor’s feelings for him. Because they are formed before the start of the novel, and then Edward is never quite himself on his subsequent appearances, I didn’t really get why she loved him.

As a random observation, I was struck with how often the Dashwood sisters were compelled to accept invitations they would have preferred to refuse, be it to reside in a certain house for a time or to spend time associating with tiresome people. Once there, they often had to sit around for hours being bored or discussing which of a pair of children was the taller. Dreary! Happily, the same cannot be said of Sense and Sensibility.

The Sandman 2: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman: B

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From the back cover:
Rose Walker finds more than she bargained for in the doll’s house—long lost relatives, a serial killers convention, and, ultimately, her true identity. The master of dreams attempts to unravel the mystery, unaware that the hand of another, far closer to home, is pulling the strings.

Review:
There were several things I quite liked in this volume. Two more of Morpheus’s siblings are introduced, and Desire (who can’t be satisfied with just one gender) is a really neat character. I also liked avuncular Gilbert, not a sibling but with mysterious origins of his own, who comes to Rose’s aid and reminded me of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.

The best part, though, was the chapter called “Men of Good Fortune,” which takes place in the middle of the Doll’s House arc but really doesn’t turn out to have much to do with it. In it, Morpheus and his sister, Death, encounter a man in 1389 who claims that he won’t ever want to succumb to death. And so Death decides not to claim him until he desires it, and Morpheus makes an appointment to visit with him every hundred years, accidentally befriending the fellow along the way. The story is neat, but I also really liked how their surroundings and wardrobes changed each time they met.

On the whole, though, I found this arc pretty damned depressing. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for so much darkness and surrealism. I also feel like there are probably some big, deep themes here that I’m just not getting.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman: A

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From the back cover:
In the tranquil fields and meadows of long-ago England, there is a small hamlet that has stood on a jut of granite for 600 years. Just to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here, in the hamlet of Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. And here, one crisp October eve, Tristran makes his love a promise—an impetuous vow that will send him through the only breach in the wall, across the pasture… and into the most exhilarating adventure of his life.

Review:
It was about time I read this! It had only been recommended to me a dozen times.

Stardust is a fairy tale that doesn’t always do what one expects, though sometimes it does. Indeed, there are fantastic lands and a large cast of characters, including a garrulous air ship captain, a scheming poisoner, a wicked witch, a captive bird, a purveyor of miracles in a silk top hat, and little hairy man with a bag of useful objects. The story is more adult than the typical fairy tale, though, as Gaiman manages to incorporate sexuality and violence without either being gratuitous. It is obvious that certain things will happen, but not how they will happen. All of the plot threads intertwine and wrap up neatly.

I absolutely love the ending. The final images of the epilogue are wonderful, the type of conclusion that makes one love the whole that much more. Definitely recommended, especially the unabridged audio read by the author himself.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 1 by Joss Whedon: B

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From the back cover:
Worldwide cult phenomenon Buffy the Vampire Slayer returns with Season Eight—only in comics! Series creator Joss Whedon once again takes up writing duties for this official sequel to the show, running the comics as he ran seven seasons of Buffy on TV. This opening story introduces a mysterious threat known as “Twilight” and plunges Buffy and the gang into their biggest adventure—without the limitations of a small-screen budget.

Review:
I’ve been reading these as they’ve been released each month, but enjoyed them more on this reread. Not only did the arc (entitled “The Long Way Home”) benefit from being read in one sitting, but I also found it easier to hear the dialogue in the actors’ voices this time, making it easier to feel that this really is happening to the characters, despite them being all two-dimensional and stuff.

The dialogue is pretty great, and the few scenes where the Scooby Gang is together (sans Giles) are my favorites of the arc—I just wish there were more of them. For a season opener, this is a lot of action and random familiar faces from the past (one of whom is a retcon so objectionable that I’m just going to pretend it didn’t happen), and small doses of character interaction. Hopefully that will shift in time. Right now, the series has moved onto a Faith arc and there’s been no real follow-up to these events yet.

The last chapter is a stand-alone story called “The Chain,” and tells the story of a girl tapped to be a decoy Buffy. It’s sad and probably the best single issue of the bunch collected here.

I find myself frequently annoyed by the inconsistency of the art in American comics and sadly, this series is no exception. While Xander and Willow look alright most of the time, Buffy either looks weird or, if she looks like herself at all, too young. In the original issues, Willow’s eyes were blue, but they’ve been corrected for this collection. The covers by Jo Chen are absolutely gorgeous, though.

Digesting the continuing adventures of Buffy in this format takes some getting used to. It definitely seemed more real to me on this reread than it did initially, so I’d advise anyone taking the plunge to give themselves a little time to adjust; it’ll grow on you.