|
August 20
|
|
Nick
gave
 
to:
Yozakura Quartet 2 (Yozakura Quartet)
by Suzuhito Yasuda
bookshelves:
manga--comedy,
manga--fantasy-horor
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"At the end of volume 1, the author promised that it would start making sense during volume 2. The author lied, but at the end of volume 2 apologized for the slow pacing...which wouldn't be half bad if the book hadn't had FOURTEEN pages of filler mang...more
At the end of volume 1, the author promised that it would start making sense during volume 2. The author lied, but at the end of volume 2 apologized for the slow pacing...which wouldn't be half bad if the book hadn't had FOURTEEN pages of filler manga, plus copious notes to explain the things which didn't make a lick of sense as translated.
I don't know whether it's the author or the translator, but often terms are used which really NEED to have a translation or a note, but are left in Japanese. This is nice in terms of giving it a regional flavor, but often what is left untranslated is a word or a term which the reader really needs to know. Instead, the translation notes explain the names of musical groups and comedy teams mentioned throughout the story.
There is some hope that the author has a plan, but the pacing on the story is so slow that it may not help. The story takes place in a small town in which many of the residents have super powers...or magical powers...or demonic powers. It's all a little vague. If they're demons, they come from another dimension, and can be re-tuned to go back there, effectively killing them here...I think.
Oh yes, and the author has no sense of time, having a main character announce on day 7 that she is going on a vacation to Germany the next day, and then she is shown returning on day 8. Think about it...A day trip from Japan to Germany and back. Right......less
"
|
|
August 19
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Kid Kosmos: Kidnapped (Paperback)
by Jim Starlin
bookshelves:
graphic-novel--fantasy-sf,
graphic-novel-superhero
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"This read like Jim Starlin channeling Steve Ditko. That's a good thing, in terms of artwork, but not so good in terms of sequential storytelling.
This is a science fiction/superhero adventure in the traditions of things like Green Lantern...a myste...more
This read like Jim Starlin channeling Steve Ditko. That's a good thing, in terms of artwork, but not so good in terms of sequential storytelling.
This is a science fiction/superhero adventure in the traditions of things like Green Lantern...a mysterious, powerful alien force has given a human tremendous powers to fight horrendous menaces, and so on. The real difference is that this time, the human is only 12, and didn't have a choice in signing on for the duration of a war against evil.
The story starts in the middle, and since there's no sequel available, stops and leaves the reader hanging, so it's like only being able to buy part two of a three-part series. That's really too bad, as the story itself was interesting, and introduced good plot twists. The lack of a continuation cost it a star in my ratings, because too many of the plot threads are left dangling.
If you just want an adventure story, and don't care about origins or sequels, then by all means read it. As it stands, though, it's like reading one story arc out of what should be an ongoing series, but isn't....less
"
|
|
August 18
|
|
Nick
made a comment on
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6):
|
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6)
by Eoin Colfer
bookshelves:
young-adult-fantasy
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
recommended for: Fans of the Artemis Fowl series
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"I am a fan of the Artemis Fowl series. I am not a fan of time travel stories.
Part of the problem with most time travel stories is the basic idea that you can be both the cause and the effect. If that's true, then you run into the Niven paradox. Lar...more
I am a fan of the Artemis Fowl series. I am not a fan of time travel stories.
Part of the problem with most time travel stories is the basic idea that you can be both the cause and the effect. If that's true, then you run into the Niven paradox. Larry Niven once pointed out that if you CAN go into the past, and change it, then someone will eventually change YOUR past to prevent you from having done it.
This story verges on that limit, by the end of the story, as Artemis realizes his apparent creation of a time loop of causality.
Still, other than a slightly weak start, it's a good story, and one which makes more clear the changes in Artemis over the course of the previous novels.
Unfortunately, it's still a time travel story......less
"
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Death Valley 1 (Death Valley Mini)
by Andrew Cosby, Johanna Stokes
bookshelves:
graphic-novel--horror
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
recommended for: Fans of World War Z
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"As post-apocalypse zombie stories go, this one isn't bad. It has a few horror-movie cliches, but also has enough variations on the common themes that it was worth reading. Like many horror stories, it leaves much unexplained. The strength of this is ...more
As post-apocalypse zombie stories go, this one isn't bad. It has a few horror-movie cliches, but also has enough variations on the common themes that it was worth reading. Like many horror stories, it leaves much unexplained. The strength of this is that the writer doesn't have to explain what happened, but the weakness is that sometimes, as in this story, it doesn't quite make sense in spots. Still, the action was interesting, and would make a decent B-movie if someone cared to adapt it.
Oddly, the best material in the book is contained in three short stories at the end, unrelated to the main story other than the post-apocalyptic horror, of sorts. One, a brief religious and philosophical examination of the concept of zombies, turned out to be unusual and interesting. My favorite, though, was a short piece called "Zoombies", which I can't explain without giving away the plot.
...less
"
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Yozakura Quartet 1 (Yozakura Quartet)
by Suzuhito Yasuda
bookshelves:
manga-science-fiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"The artwork was so much better than the story, which may be because the creator is primarily an artist. The notes in the book explain the difficulties the editor had with various early versions of this story, and I think that the editor needed to kee...more
The artwork was so much better than the story, which may be because the creator is primarily an artist. The notes in the book explain the difficulties the editor had with various early versions of this story, and I think that the editor needed to keep on top of the problem a little longer. The story is rushed and incoherent, and never lives up to the art.
I THINK the story is about a city in which supernatural things are occurring, including demonic possessions. I THINK that a small group of teens has supernatural powers and uses them to combat this evil. I've actually read the book twice now, and I'm still not sure...
Some of the concepts are very interesting, including a form of spoken word magic. I just wish the series had a better writer....less
"
|
|
August 13
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Talent 1 (Talent Mini)
by Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski
bookshelves:
graphic-novel--fantasy-sf
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"A very interesting story, and it doesn't surprise me that it has been optioned for film. It is very cinematic in style.
The basic premise is that a man survives a plane crash, quite impossibly, and begins to remember things related to the people who...more
A very interesting story, and it doesn't surprise me that it has been optioned for film. It is very cinematic in style.
The basic premise is that a man survives a plane crash, quite impossibly, and begins to remember things related to the people who died on that same crash...their conversations, their skills, even phone numbers they knew. So of course, someone wants him dead like all of the rest, but who and why? That's the core of the story.
I'm not a big Tom Sniegoski fan, but his artwork suits this story....less
"
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Talent (Talent Mini Ser.)
by Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Street Magik (Paperback)
by Luke Lieberman
bookshelves:
graphic-novel--fantasy-sf
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
Nick said:
"The story was interesting, but the pacing drove me crazy. It's an urban fantasy about a family torn apart by the death of the father, which seems to have caused the mother to have a breakdown. The reader quickly learns that there is more to it than t...more
The story was interesting, but the pacing drove me crazy. It's an urban fantasy about a family torn apart by the death of the father, which seems to have caused the mother to have a breakdown. The reader quickly learns that there is more to it than that.
Several times during the story, it felt rushed, as if constrained to fit more story than the page count permitted. This left out important pieces, like character development or an explanation for the weird behavior of the police at several points in the story.
The introduction and credits gave me the impression that it was adapted from a story, rather than written directly for this form, so that may have been the problem....less
"
|
|
August 05
|
|
Nick
gave
to:
Northworld Book 1: The Epic of Conrad (Part 1)
by Lars Brown
bookshelves:
graphic-novel--fantasy-sf
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Nick said:
"This book is very good, but fails the test of greatness, especially the ending, which was NOT a resolution. I suppose that's what the artist intended, but I found it to be very frustrating, and lacking a sense of closure. The website had an extra fou...more
This book is very good, but fails the test of greatness, especially the ending, which was NOT a resolution. I suppose that's what the artist intended, but I found it to be very frustrating, and lacking a sense of closure. The website had an extra four pages not included in the book, and that's not an ending, either. Sigh...
I enjoyed the story [other than the ending] and the characters. The artwork was okay, but adequate for the story....less
"
|
GNLIB Members
— 12 members
— last activity 03/06/2008 08:28AM
