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Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem
Prequel novel to the upcoming Netflix series, Cowboy Bebop. Discover the origins of the classic rivalry between Spike and Vicious amongst the dark underbelly of Mars, 2161!
The year is 2161. The Red Dragon Crime Syndicate is king, and for all those lucky enough to be members of this crime family, life is damn good.
Well, not for everyone... For two entry-level gangsters in Tharsis City, Mars, life in the Syndicate isn’t quite all guns and glamour. That’s right. Long before they were mortal enemies, Spike Spiegel and Vicious were just two friends clawing their way up the crime ladder and trying to have a little fun while doing it.
But when an opportunity to pull a job for their boss arises, it’s make or break time. Literally. All they have to do is deliver a suitcase. How hard could it be?
You ready for some history tellin'...space cowboy?
The year is 2161. The Red Dragon Crime Syndicate is king, and for all those lucky enough to be members of this crime family, life is damn good.
Well, not for everyone... For two entry-level gangsters in Tharsis City, Mars, life in the Syndicate isn’t quite all guns and glamour. That’s right. Long before they were mortal enemies, Spike Spiegel and Vicious were just two friends clawing their way up the crime ladder and trying to have a little fun while doing it.
But when an opportunity to pull a job for their boss arises, it’s make or break time. Literally. All they have to do is deliver a suitcase. How hard could it be?
You ready for some history tellin'...space cowboy?
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 23, 2021
12 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
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January 4, 2022
It is what it is
January 31, 2022
Reading this book was a bit like riding a roller coaster. I soared, I plummeted, I soared again, I got all twisted around... and, though I left the experience questioning my life choices, I still undeniably had fun.
Not the greatest fun. Certainly not the best use of my time or money. But fun was had, nonetheless. Which is more than I can say for my experience watching the show this is based upon, so it automatically gets a few bonus points for that. Weirdly, however, the author was one of the screenwriters on the Netflix show, so I'm not sure why the writing is more entertaining here. Maybe it's because I already knew what to expect and didn't have high hopes to get dashed...?
I had a blast just absorbing this book like the action-heavy cheesecake it is, either way. Maybe it's not the most well-written or competently edited book I've encountered (more on that later) and maybe I actively dislike the Netflix canon upon which it's based, but I still had enough fun that I was able to overlook those things and just devour this book with a grin for a majority of the time spent reading it.
Make no mistakes, though: I didn't say 'cheesecake' just because I like that particular confection; I said it because this is very much a literary dessert heavy on the cheese. The main characters are named Vicious and Fearless, okay. That's ten steps worse than the naming in original Cowboy Bebop canon where they are Spike and Vicious, so don't come here looking for something to take seriously. On top of that, instead of the original anime's chillingly competent and bloodthirsty criminals, here the boys are low level members of a crime syndicate with the collective being-good-criminals skills of two goldfish in a mud puddle. Not to be confused for a lack of combat skills or sheer brutality, mind; Fearless literally deep fries someone's arm as an interrogation tactic and Vicious lives up to his name when he isn't being a whiny edgelord. So... why and how are they so hilariously incompetent?Idk, my bff Jill. Nobody knows; that's just the way it is.
Basically, this is like the criminal-protagonists version of a buddy cop comedy. And, y'know what? I like those. This may not be the dead serious, angsty glimpse into Spike's time with the Red Dragon crime syndicate that I'd hoped for, but it's the mindless romp on the absurd side that I apparently needed. Emphasis on mindless.
But you're not here to see me find every way to say "it's cheesy, but I kinda liked it," are you? So, let's delve into the contents of this book.
First things first: this is a prequel novel to the Netflix live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. It gives a glimpse into Spike's past, attempting to fill in some of the blanks with regards to how he and Vicious became close in the past - before Julia came between them and they turned into enemies. I personally believe it's better read in the middle of the Netflix series, if you're going to subject yourself to that experience at all, because some of the exposition is helpful to understanding references in the show itself but it doesn't completely stand on its own without insight into the adapted characterizations. If you go into this knowing only the anime characterizations, you're gonna have a bad time - especially with regards to Vicious' new backstory and personality.
Despite having nary a mention of Spike's syndicate-era alias of Fearless from Netflix canon in the book blurb, that's solely what he's called here. But - and this is a big but, like a full on badonkadonk - his personality is very recognizable for its Spike-ness throughout most of the book. (Y'know, when he's not busy being terrified of everything, fearing death, and bitching when things go wrong in a very not fearless manner... But there really are many Spike-worthy elements.) His appeal may have been cheapened with the worst alias possible, but he falls somewhere between the original Spike Spiegel (personality, most mannerisms, hot temper) and the Netflix remake (potty-mouthed to an extreme, some mannerisms, not being fearless at all half the time). Likewise, while Vicious still fits his adaptation (whiny edgelord, extreme daddy issues, weird attempt to make his villainy sympathetic), he also has some glorious, shining pieces of the original in his characterization (dangerous focus on vengeance, near-obsession withFearless Spike, a penchant for extremely brutal overkill). For me, this compromise between the two extremes is the main appeal of the book.
It's a bit like reading that one fanfic that's trying so hard, and hitting the edges of what I want so consistently, that I'm willing to forgive it for being very much imperfect.
No, seriously. I went into this book so tentatively that I tried a sample first. And then I fell in love with how the dynamic betweenSpike Fearless and Vicious was portrayed and dropped ten bucks on it. I have been fascinated with the idea of Spike's time with Vicious in the Red Dragon syndicate for quite literally most of my life. I would give a fraction of my soul to have a prequel novel based on the original anime, so ten dollars for a version based on the knockoff seemed reasonable enough.
Granted, I later discovered that the best moments of characterization were strategically positioned in the first ten percent, but I never actually regretted the purchase. Just... questioned the price, because wow the editing is not great. But we'll get to that later. For now, the story.
Vicious and Fearless are best friends - the kind of best friends with some lowkey subtext, though normally just incidental or played for laughs - and constantly bicker with each other over the most inconsequential of things. They're very much a mismatched pair: one of them is an orphan who was abandoned in front of a nightclub as an infant and the other is a rich kid with daddy issues and a suicidal mom. Though they're close and clearly respect each other, the dissonance between their respective upbringings definitely causes conflicts. As does Vicious' general inability to handle a combat situation and Fearless' refusal to take anything seriously until his life's on the line. Like I said: the criminal-protagonists version of a buddy cop comedy.
They meet as young teens via flashback chapters covering what comes across as a human trafficking thing at first. Fearless is a pre-established pit fighter who's respected and feared by the other kids, and Vicious - known only as The White-Haired Boy at the time, because apparently we don't get to learn his original name - is a rich kid who's been sent to the pits by his abusive father as some kind of life lesson. Teens being trucked into a facility to have pit fights, where the losers are eradicated after three fails and everyone's called by a number or nickname instead of their actual name? I mean, it felt like a horrifying human trafficking thing... only to be revealed, later, as a (dubiously) consensual thing where the kids even get to phone home on occasion and can just wander away whenever they please. Though there's plenty of attempts to drive home that it's a dubious situation, where homeless kids are desperate for money and gravitate toward this pit fighting arena where they put life and limb on the line in exchange for food and shelter, it never quite hits home because that feels like such a downgrade from the original high stakes inferred from the introduction to the situation. But anyway...
Vicious, before he's vicious, is the quiet and broody kid who gets bullied and just sits there and takes it while he makes eyes at Fearless, whose style of martial arts - Jeet Kune Do - catches his attention. He's seen all the Bruce Lee movies of old, and he's more than a little star struck. For the most part, their youthful interaction consists of Fearless being the cool kid and "The White-Haired Boy" being the lost puppy who begs him for scraps of attention. Then, one day, something happens to bring them together - I won't spoil what, because I quite liked that bit - and suddenly they're the best of friends because despite their differences they kind of just click together. Which means they become fiercely protective of one another, to the point they're simultaneously deadly together and keeping each other grounded. This becomes an Achilles heel of sorts, as often is the case when people in a brutal environment become close.
(Does this sound like an m/m romance to anyone else? Because I found myself being a little disappointed that it wasn't, with all the plot beats they hit together. I mean, even when they're sneaking into a private strip tease, they're doing so together; the bisexual energy is crazy strong and I'm here for it.)
In the book's primary timeline, they're low-level criminals in the Red Dragon crime syndicate, helping clean up bodies left by assassins and performing menial errands like driving their capo to meet his mistress. Problem is: they're bumbling idiots. The kind of bumbling idiots who manage to piss off both a rival syndicate and their own then get into a life-or-death adventure simply by being too collectively stupid to make a single intelligent choice in a bad situation. Also, Vicious has this little issue where he blacks out and brutally murders people when he gets too upset, and as you can imagine that's part of how they managed to get into the hot mess that comprises the main plot.
This is where my fellow fans of the Cowboy Bebop anime stop and look at the above paragraphs like a shocked Pikachu. Go ahead, I'll give you time...
Wondering how these guys become the main villain and the badass protagonist of Cowboy Bebop, right? Yeah, same. But the thing is: they don't. And you're gonna have a bad time if you go into this expecting that. No, this is a thousand percent the live action tie-in it markets itself to be... minus the cover. (This book has literally nothing to do with Jet or Faye, or even Spike's time as a bounty hunter, so I have no clue why the cover was made how it is.)
The Vicious and Spike in this alternate universe aren't at all what anime fans know and love. But as a diehard fan of the anime who couldn't stand what the live action adaptation did to characterization, I can say with certainty that even the two stooges in this book are better written than the majority of the live action show itself. Vicious may still be the whiny rich kid with daddy issues that we were given in the Netflix version - and every bit as juvenile in his potty mouthed vocabulary - but he also has an intense darkness which is actually troubling and a dynamic withSpike Fearless which is mostly enjoyable to read. Fearless may not always feel like he could someday be Spike, but he's an interesting character in his own way. Likewise, the little homages paid to the anime are actually fun, feel lovingly included, and don't feel like the mockery they come across as in the live action show itself.
I very much had fun reading this for what it was with the critical part of my brain firmly planted in the off position. But when the critical thinking kicked back on? Well, I had to pause reading until I could turn it off again, because I lost enjoyment quickly every time.
As I mentioned in the beginning, this book isn't particularly well edited. The amount of typos, tense shifts in sentences, missing words, and grating writing quirks is astounding for a professionally published book that costs ten bucks in Kindle format. Some of the quirks include transitioning action with sudden, improper sentences like "When, Goldie called out to him." and typing out sounds dramatically such as "BRAAAAAAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!" (actual example of when someone was shooting). In moderation, these things wouldn't be terrible and when I was caught in the reading zone, fully immersed, I didn't mind so much. However, they're frequent enough to become awkward and annoying with just a little bit of overthinking.
The best way I can describe it is to liken it to the action novels written for dudes to pick up at a drug store and read during a boring train ride or flight. You know the ones, where more time is spent awkwardly naming the exact model of car and gun being used in a scene than exploring the panic a character feels while their life is on the line. The ones where exclamations are tossed into the flow of writing to artificially amp up reader excitement despite the tone never noticeably changing!
Except here, weirdly enough, we get to know the exact model and calibre of one-off enemies' guns, but the main protagonists just have generic 9mm weapons. Because I guess the author forgot that there are a metric ton of potential handguns in many varied sizes and styles which can fire 9mm rounds...? Idk. Considering Spike's iconic Jericho 941 is once such weapon, it feels strikingly weird to have that dissonance and never even know for sure if he's using that particular gun yet or just a random one issued by the Red Dragon. But since I was having way too much fun just going along for the ride, I decided to explain this to myself as a bias toward whatSpike Fearless notices in a scene - of course he'd stop and clock (not notice, or see, or observe; everything in this book is referred to, constantly, as being 'clocked' when it's noticed) the models of weapons used in combat. That's actually a trait he has in the anime as well, so even though I doubt that was the intention I ran with it as if it were.
I also couldn't decide how I felt about Vicious being written as someone who has a trauma-induced mental illness which makes him black out when upset and turn incredibly violent. Fearless refers to this as a "darkness" which overtakes Vicious, and while that does seem to suit the character it also feels a bit like an attempt to forgive his evil deeds. Not to mention being something of an annoyingly overdone trope. I can't say for certain if this is part of the Netflix canon or added backstory, however, because I didn't make it through the final two episodes - just plot spoilers thereof - so for all I know this might be one of the changes associated with the show and thus something the author had to include. But like I said, I'm torn. It's not as terribly written as most instances I've seen of this trope... just poorly introduced.
That's not because it's poorly timed or anything. No, it's because this book is too heavy on the telling and too light on the showing. The right emotions are portrayed at the right times, but they're portrayed by telling readers what the characters feel instead of showing us. It's difficult to get wrapped up in the emotion and intrigue to feel the impact of Vicious having a mental break, because the writing remains just as distant as it is when he's doing anything else. Just saying a character feels something doesn't make it feel true. Without diving into his head, it's hard to feel the emotions along with him - and, thus, harder to feel as if the mental illness portrayed is 'authentic.'
But then he snaps on some jerk who harasses him outside a bar and the ensuing gore-fest is so entertaining it doesn't completely matter that the emotions are only told-not-shown. Or the duo end up in a high-speed chase where Fearless has to climb across the car and reach under it while it's in motion to remove a tracking device and the banter may be lame but it's also amusing. Because, like I said, this book is (mindless) fun. It's like an oldschool comic book - SMACK! BAM! BOOM! WHOOSH! - mixed with a corny action novel. Or a silly yet engaging action comedy.
Much like such media: so long as I wasn't trying to take it too seriously, I enjoyed this book. Looking past how oddly not-Cowboy-Bebop everything felt was easy enough since Spike goes by a different name, which made viewing this as something entirely unique much easier. And as a unique entity, it's not half bad. Certainly not great literature, but not horrible either.
I could nitpick at least a dozen (more) minor annoyances. I could complain about the world building or several aspects of the characterizations. I could even grouse about how the flashback chapters are written in all italics and it makes my eyes go all wonky. But I don't wanna. Because it feels a bit like enjoying a rollercoaster then spending the next hour whinging about how the paint was chipped on the passenger cars and the queue was too long.
As far as I'm concerned, I needed this book right now. I needed something to lose myself in and just enjoy without having a future review stirring around in the back of my head the whole time. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it - especially not to fellow fans of the anime who are craving a peek at Spike's syndicate era relative to original canon, because this ain't it - but I liked it all the same and don't regret my purchase. Sometimes, a little mindless enjoyment of campy literature is a really good thing.
And honestly? I'm here to read for fun and enjoyment and entertainment. I'm sick of taking a hyper-critical eye to everything I read - though I normally can't help it because OCD sucks swamp water and my brain's gonna do whatever it wants without my input anyway. So the fact I was able to just sit down with this book and gobble it up like the junk food it is makes me happy. And as such, I'm ignoring the part of me that somewhat wants to write a novella about minor annoyances retrospectively and I'm instead giving this book an extra star like a shiny, little "you did good, book, thank you for entertaining me" badge.
Not the greatest fun. Certainly not the best use of my time or money. But fun was had, nonetheless. Which is more than I can say for my experience watching the show this is based upon, so it automatically gets a few bonus points for that. Weirdly, however, the author was one of the screenwriters on the Netflix show, so I'm not sure why the writing is more entertaining here. Maybe it's because I already knew what to expect and didn't have high hopes to get dashed...?
I had a blast just absorbing this book like the action-heavy cheesecake it is, either way. Maybe it's not the most well-written or competently edited book I've encountered (more on that later) and maybe I actively dislike the Netflix canon upon which it's based, but I still had enough fun that I was able to overlook those things and just devour this book with a grin for a majority of the time spent reading it.
Make no mistakes, though: I didn't say 'cheesecake' just because I like that particular confection; I said it because this is very much a literary dessert heavy on the cheese. The main characters are named Vicious and Fearless, okay. That's ten steps worse than the naming in original Cowboy Bebop canon where they are Spike and Vicious, so don't come here looking for something to take seriously. On top of that, instead of the original anime's chillingly competent and bloodthirsty criminals, here the boys are low level members of a crime syndicate with the collective being-good-criminals skills of two goldfish in a mud puddle. Not to be confused for a lack of combat skills or sheer brutality, mind; Fearless literally deep fries someone's arm as an interrogation tactic and Vicious lives up to his name when he isn't being a whiny edgelord. So... why and how are they so hilariously incompetent?
Basically, this is like the criminal-protagonists version of a buddy cop comedy. And, y'know what? I like those. This may not be the dead serious, angsty glimpse into Spike's time with the Red Dragon crime syndicate that I'd hoped for, but it's the mindless romp on the absurd side that I apparently needed. Emphasis on mindless.
But you're not here to see me find every way to say "it's cheesy, but I kinda liked it," are you? So, let's delve into the contents of this book.
First things first: this is a prequel novel to the Netflix live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. It gives a glimpse into Spike's past, attempting to fill in some of the blanks with regards to how he and Vicious became close in the past - before Julia came between them and they turned into enemies. I personally believe it's better read in the middle of the Netflix series, if you're going to subject yourself to that experience at all, because some of the exposition is helpful to understanding references in the show itself but it doesn't completely stand on its own without insight into the adapted characterizations. If you go into this knowing only the anime characterizations, you're gonna have a bad time - especially with regards to Vicious' new backstory and personality.
Despite having nary a mention of Spike's syndicate-era alias of Fearless from Netflix canon in the book blurb, that's solely what he's called here. But - and this is a big but, like a full on badonkadonk - his personality is very recognizable for its Spike-ness throughout most of the book. (Y'know, when he's not busy being terrified of everything, fearing death, and bitching when things go wrong in a very not fearless manner... But there really are many Spike-worthy elements.) His appeal may have been cheapened with the worst alias possible, but he falls somewhere between the original Spike Spiegel (personality, most mannerisms, hot temper) and the Netflix remake (potty-mouthed to an extreme, some mannerisms, not being fearless at all half the time). Likewise, while Vicious still fits his adaptation (whiny edgelord, extreme daddy issues, weird attempt to make his villainy sympathetic), he also has some glorious, shining pieces of the original in his characterization (dangerous focus on vengeance, near-obsession with
It's a bit like reading that one fanfic that's trying so hard, and hitting the edges of what I want so consistently, that I'm willing to forgive it for being very much imperfect.
No, seriously. I went into this book so tentatively that I tried a sample first. And then I fell in love with how the dynamic between
Granted, I later discovered that the best moments of characterization were strategically positioned in the first ten percent, but I never actually regretted the purchase. Just... questioned the price, because wow the editing is not great. But we'll get to that later. For now, the story.
Vicious and Fearless are best friends - the kind of best friends with some lowkey subtext, though normally just incidental or played for laughs - and constantly bicker with each other over the most inconsequential of things. They're very much a mismatched pair: one of them is an orphan who was abandoned in front of a nightclub as an infant and the other is a rich kid with daddy issues and a suicidal mom. Though they're close and clearly respect each other, the dissonance between their respective upbringings definitely causes conflicts. As does Vicious' general inability to handle a combat situation and Fearless' refusal to take anything seriously until his life's on the line. Like I said: the criminal-protagonists version of a buddy cop comedy.
They meet as young teens via flashback chapters covering what comes across as a human trafficking thing at first. Fearless is a pre-established pit fighter who's respected and feared by the other kids, and Vicious - known only as The White-Haired Boy at the time, because apparently we don't get to learn his original name - is a rich kid who's been sent to the pits by his abusive father as some kind of life lesson. Teens being trucked into a facility to have pit fights, where the losers are eradicated after three fails and everyone's called by a number or nickname instead of their actual name? I mean, it felt like a horrifying human trafficking thing... only to be revealed, later, as a (dubiously) consensual thing where the kids even get to phone home on occasion and can just wander away whenever they please. Though there's plenty of attempts to drive home that it's a dubious situation, where homeless kids are desperate for money and gravitate toward this pit fighting arena where they put life and limb on the line in exchange for food and shelter, it never quite hits home because that feels like such a downgrade from the original high stakes inferred from the introduction to the situation. But anyway...
Vicious, before he's vicious, is the quiet and broody kid who gets bullied and just sits there and takes it while he makes eyes at Fearless, whose style of martial arts - Jeet Kune Do - catches his attention. He's seen all the Bruce Lee movies of old, and he's more than a little star struck. For the most part, their youthful interaction consists of Fearless being the cool kid and "The White-Haired Boy" being the lost puppy who begs him for scraps of attention. Then, one day, something happens to bring them together - I won't spoil what, because I quite liked that bit - and suddenly they're the best of friends because despite their differences they kind of just click together. Which means they become fiercely protective of one another, to the point they're simultaneously deadly together and keeping each other grounded. This becomes an Achilles heel of sorts, as often is the case when people in a brutal environment become close.
(Does this sound like an m/m romance to anyone else? Because I found myself being a little disappointed that it wasn't, with all the plot beats they hit together. I mean, even when they're sneaking into a private strip tease, they're doing so together; the bisexual energy is crazy strong and I'm here for it.)
In the book's primary timeline, they're low-level criminals in the Red Dragon crime syndicate, helping clean up bodies left by assassins and performing menial errands like driving their capo to meet his mistress. Problem is: they're bumbling idiots. The kind of bumbling idiots who manage to piss off both a rival syndicate and their own then get into a life-or-death adventure simply by being too collectively stupid to make a single intelligent choice in a bad situation. Also, Vicious has this little issue where he blacks out and brutally murders people when he gets too upset, and as you can imagine that's part of how they managed to get into the hot mess that comprises the main plot.
This is where my fellow fans of the Cowboy Bebop anime stop and look at the above paragraphs like a shocked Pikachu. Go ahead, I'll give you time...
Wondering how these guys become the main villain and the badass protagonist of Cowboy Bebop, right? Yeah, same. But the thing is: they don't. And you're gonna have a bad time if you go into this expecting that. No, this is a thousand percent the live action tie-in it markets itself to be... minus the cover. (This book has literally nothing to do with Jet or Faye, or even Spike's time as a bounty hunter, so I have no clue why the cover was made how it is.)
The Vicious and Spike in this alternate universe aren't at all what anime fans know and love. But as a diehard fan of the anime who couldn't stand what the live action adaptation did to characterization, I can say with certainty that even the two stooges in this book are better written than the majority of the live action show itself. Vicious may still be the whiny rich kid with daddy issues that we were given in the Netflix version - and every bit as juvenile in his potty mouthed vocabulary - but he also has an intense darkness which is actually troubling and a dynamic with
I very much had fun reading this for what it was with the critical part of my brain firmly planted in the off position. But when the critical thinking kicked back on? Well, I had to pause reading until I could turn it off again, because I lost enjoyment quickly every time.
As I mentioned in the beginning, this book isn't particularly well edited. The amount of typos, tense shifts in sentences, missing words, and grating writing quirks is astounding for a professionally published book that costs ten bucks in Kindle format. Some of the quirks include transitioning action with sudden, improper sentences like "When, Goldie called out to him." and typing out sounds dramatically such as "BRAAAAAAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!" (actual example of when someone was shooting). In moderation, these things wouldn't be terrible and when I was caught in the reading zone, fully immersed, I didn't mind so much. However, they're frequent enough to become awkward and annoying with just a little bit of overthinking.
The best way I can describe it is to liken it to the action novels written for dudes to pick up at a drug store and read during a boring train ride or flight. You know the ones, where more time is spent awkwardly naming the exact model of car and gun being used in a scene than exploring the panic a character feels while their life is on the line. The ones where exclamations are tossed into the flow of writing to artificially amp up reader excitement despite the tone never noticeably changing!
Except here, weirdly enough, we get to know the exact model and calibre of one-off enemies' guns, but the main protagonists just have generic 9mm weapons. Because I guess the author forgot that there are a metric ton of potential handguns in many varied sizes and styles which can fire 9mm rounds...? Idk. Considering Spike's iconic Jericho 941 is once such weapon, it feels strikingly weird to have that dissonance and never even know for sure if he's using that particular gun yet or just a random one issued by the Red Dragon. But since I was having way too much fun just going along for the ride, I decided to explain this to myself as a bias toward what
I also couldn't decide how I felt about Vicious being written as someone who has a trauma-induced mental illness which makes him black out when upset and turn incredibly violent. Fearless refers to this as a "darkness" which overtakes Vicious, and while that does seem to suit the character it also feels a bit like an attempt to forgive his evil deeds. Not to mention being something of an annoyingly overdone trope. I can't say for certain if this is part of the Netflix canon or added backstory, however, because I didn't make it through the final two episodes - just plot spoilers thereof - so for all I know this might be one of the changes associated with the show and thus something the author had to include. But like I said, I'm torn. It's not as terribly written as most instances I've seen of this trope... just poorly introduced.
That's not because it's poorly timed or anything. No, it's because this book is too heavy on the telling and too light on the showing. The right emotions are portrayed at the right times, but they're portrayed by telling readers what the characters feel instead of showing us. It's difficult to get wrapped up in the emotion and intrigue to feel the impact of Vicious having a mental break, because the writing remains just as distant as it is when he's doing anything else. Just saying a character feels something doesn't make it feel true. Without diving into his head, it's hard to feel the emotions along with him - and, thus, harder to feel as if the mental illness portrayed is 'authentic.'
But then he snaps on some jerk who harasses him outside a bar and the ensuing gore-fest is so entertaining it doesn't completely matter that the emotions are only told-not-shown. Or the duo end up in a high-speed chase where Fearless has to climb across the car and reach under it while it's in motion to remove a tracking device and the banter may be lame but it's also amusing. Because, like I said, this book is (mindless) fun. It's like an oldschool comic book - SMACK! BAM! BOOM! WHOOSH! - mixed with a corny action novel. Or a silly yet engaging action comedy.
Much like such media: so long as I wasn't trying to take it too seriously, I enjoyed this book. Looking past how oddly not-Cowboy-Bebop everything felt was easy enough since Spike goes by a different name, which made viewing this as something entirely unique much easier. And as a unique entity, it's not half bad. Certainly not great literature, but not horrible either.
I could nitpick at least a dozen (more) minor annoyances. I could complain about the world building or several aspects of the characterizations. I could even grouse about how the flashback chapters are written in all italics and it makes my eyes go all wonky. But I don't wanna. Because it feels a bit like enjoying a rollercoaster then spending the next hour whinging about how the paint was chipped on the passenger cars and the queue was too long.
As far as I'm concerned, I needed this book right now. I needed something to lose myself in and just enjoy without having a future review stirring around in the back of my head the whole time. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it - especially not to fellow fans of the anime who are craving a peek at Spike's syndicate era relative to original canon, because this ain't it - but I liked it all the same and don't regret my purchase. Sometimes, a little mindless enjoyment of campy literature is a really good thing.
And honestly? I'm here to read for fun and enjoyment and entertainment. I'm sick of taking a hyper-critical eye to everything I read - though I normally can't help it because OCD sucks swamp water and my brain's gonna do whatever it wants without my input anyway. So the fact I was able to just sit down with this book and gobble it up like the junk food it is makes me happy. And as such, I'm ignoring the part of me that somewhat wants to write a novella about minor annoyances retrospectively and I'm instead giving this book an extra star like a shiny, little "you did good, book, thank you for entertaining me" badge.
September 5, 2024
This is one of those books that make me ask more questions than are answered - probably due to the fact it they are nothing to do with the storyline but rather why the book is here in the first place.
The anime series is somewhat of a classic and no doubt spawned the interest in creating a live action version - now I know that the reason for its failure will be discussed for a long time to come but as part of this revived interest you have a prequal story of when Vicious and Fearless worked together and were friends.
How things lets to where they are in the TV show is not explored here (that is left for other media and other times) rather it shows what they were like when working together in the early days - for me it paints a brilliant picture of the world they live in however it does feel a little unnecessary. After all we quickly learnt all this from previously published material - if anything this feels like a generic story skinned with recognisable names and few well described locations.
However that is doing this book a disservice as there is an interesting story which still manages to throw a few curve balls in to keep me on my toes - however ultimately do I feel it has added to the world of Cowboy Bebop - not really but hey was a fun ride.
The anime series is somewhat of a classic and no doubt spawned the interest in creating a live action version - now I know that the reason for its failure will be discussed for a long time to come but as part of this revived interest you have a prequal story of when Vicious and Fearless worked together and were friends.
How things lets to where they are in the TV show is not explored here (that is left for other media and other times) rather it shows what they were like when working together in the early days - for me it paints a brilliant picture of the world they live in however it does feel a little unnecessary. After all we quickly learnt all this from previously published material - if anything this feels like a generic story skinned with recognisable names and few well described locations.
However that is doing this book a disservice as there is an interesting story which still manages to throw a few curve balls in to keep me on my toes - however ultimately do I feel it has added to the world of Cowboy Bebop - not really but hey was a fun ride.
February 2, 2022
As somebody who knows nothing about Cowboy Bebop (apart from the amazing intro music) I found this book very entertaining. It was fairly well written with believable characters and a great plot. This could be a good standalone film/series if done the right way (maybe it already is, I wouldn't know).
Nice easy reading, I'll be having a look for some of Sean's other work, that's for sure!
I think I might have to check out the show too!
Nice easy reading, I'll be having a look for some of Sean's other work, that's for sure!
I think I might have to check out the show too!
December 11, 2022
I listened to this book via Audible.
I love the original Cowboy Bebop anime, and while the live-action Netflix series wasn't nearly as good, it scratched the itch for more Spike and the gang. The same can be said for this book, which presents an interesting origin story for Fearless and Vicious set prior to the events of the show.
I think this book has a major flaw - it tries to fill in gaps that don't need to be filled. The original series, and to some extent the Netflix show, don't really really give you much backstory on the world. They hint at a gate disaster, you see some flashbacks of Spike and Vicious working together in the syndicate, and of course you meet Julia. That's all you really need to know. This story takes us back to how the two characters met and how they rose through the ranks of the Red Dragon. Is it cool? Sure. But it feels a bit unnecessary. There's way too much world-building that was specifically avoided in the show.
Red Planet Requiem is well-written and well-paced - it's an enjoyable read. But I think I would have liked it more as a generic sci-fi story rather than one set in the Cowboy Bebop universe. If you love the anime and want to consume as much content relating to Spike as possible, you should check it out. But most people can probably pass on it.
I love the original Cowboy Bebop anime, and while the live-action Netflix series wasn't nearly as good, it scratched the itch for more Spike and the gang. The same can be said for this book, which presents an interesting origin story for Fearless and Vicious set prior to the events of the show.
I think this book has a major flaw - it tries to fill in gaps that don't need to be filled. The original series, and to some extent the Netflix show, don't really really give you much backstory on the world. They hint at a gate disaster, you see some flashbacks of Spike and Vicious working together in the syndicate, and of course you meet Julia. That's all you really need to know. This story takes us back to how the two characters met and how they rose through the ranks of the Red Dragon. Is it cool? Sure. But it feels a bit unnecessary. There's way too much world-building that was specifically avoided in the show.
Red Planet Requiem is well-written and well-paced - it's an enjoyable read. But I think I would have liked it more as a generic sci-fi story rather than one set in the Cowboy Bebop universe. If you love the anime and want to consume as much content relating to Spike as possible, you should check it out. But most people can probably pass on it.
November 27, 2021
This cover is SO misleading. It has nothing to do with Faye or Jet.
I don't feel like this is an amazing novel by any means. It adds a bit to the live action series so if you enjoyed that you'll enjoy this.
But at no point was i really hooked. It was more of less just good enough to keep me going.
"Fearless" feels like spike so they captured that vibe well. Vicious feels very edge lordy so they also captured that well. But i dunno. Its not bad (unless you are a fan that can't handle changes. Which then I feel sorry for you when seasons change) its a decent read. I kinda hope this leads to more books for the other named characters
I don't feel like this is an amazing novel by any means. It adds a bit to the live action series so if you enjoyed that you'll enjoy this.
But at no point was i really hooked. It was more of less just good enough to keep me going.
"Fearless" feels like spike so they captured that vibe well. Vicious feels very edge lordy so they also captured that well. But i dunno. Its not bad (unless you are a fan that can't handle changes. Which then I feel sorry for you when seasons change) its a decent read. I kinda hope this leads to more books for the other named characters
February 18, 2022
Do sięgnięcia po "Cawboy Bebop. Requiem dla czerwonej planety" przekonała mnie głównie informacja o produkcji Netflixa. No bo coś o czym stworzono serial musi mieć być ciekawe, prawda? Niestety nie zawsze.
Przed sięgnięciem po książkę nie słyszałam o anime "Cowboy Bebop", którego jest prequelem. Mimo to po opisie liczyłam na historię pełną akcji i adrenaliny. Niestety tak się nie stało. Dwóch bohaterów, Spike Spiegel i Vicious są od kilku lat przyjaciółmi i teraz jak nowicjusze z Tharsis City, będący na samym dole w hierarchii Gangu Czerwonego Smoka, dostają zadanie. Muszą tylko dostarczyć komuś walizkę, ale to jednak nie takie proste jak się wydaje. I w gruncie rzeczy była to historia prosta, nieskomplikowana, którą można sobie przeczytać na raz. Walki, ucieczki, porwanie, przemyt, czy zemsta dominują w tej książce i tutaj od razu zaznaczam, że ze względu na brutalność jest to książka dla starszego czytelnika.
Ciekawym zabiegiem były dwie linie czasowe, teraźniejszość w którym mamy przygodę naszych bohaterów, oraz przeszłość opowiadająca o tym, jak się poznali Spiki i Vicious. To był ciekawy i fajnie poprowadzony wątek podczas gdy wydarzenia z "teraźniejszości" były trochę zlepkiem różnych pomysłów nie robiących na mnie wrażenia. W zasadzie nic w książce mnie nie zaskoczyło, a szkoda. Podobnie jest z postaciami, gdzie poza Spike i Viciousem większość postaci po rpostu przewija się przez historię bez lepszego ich poznania, a ze wszystkich relacji, tylko ta pomiędzy głównymi bohaterami jest bardziej rozbudowana. Spodziewałam się czegoś lepszego.
Przed sięgnięciem po książkę nie słyszałam o anime "Cowboy Bebop", którego jest prequelem. Mimo to po opisie liczyłam na historię pełną akcji i adrenaliny. Niestety tak się nie stało. Dwóch bohaterów, Spike Spiegel i Vicious są od kilku lat przyjaciółmi i teraz jak nowicjusze z Tharsis City, będący na samym dole w hierarchii Gangu Czerwonego Smoka, dostają zadanie. Muszą tylko dostarczyć komuś walizkę, ale to jednak nie takie proste jak się wydaje. I w gruncie rzeczy była to historia prosta, nieskomplikowana, którą można sobie przeczytać na raz. Walki, ucieczki, porwanie, przemyt, czy zemsta dominują w tej książce i tutaj od razu zaznaczam, że ze względu na brutalność jest to książka dla starszego czytelnika.
Ciekawym zabiegiem były dwie linie czasowe, teraźniejszość w którym mamy przygodę naszych bohaterów, oraz przeszłość opowiadająca o tym, jak się poznali Spiki i Vicious. To był ciekawy i fajnie poprowadzony wątek podczas gdy wydarzenia z "teraźniejszości" były trochę zlepkiem różnych pomysłów nie robiących na mnie wrażenia. W zasadzie nic w książce mnie nie zaskoczyło, a szkoda. Podobnie jest z postaciami, gdzie poza Spike i Viciousem większość postaci po rpostu przewija się przez historię bez lepszego ich poznania, a ze wszystkich relacji, tylko ta pomiędzy głównymi bohaterami jest bardziej rozbudowana. Spodziewałam się czegoś lepszego.
November 27, 2021
I'm just starting to get into the Cowboy Bebop universe. It's okay. I think it would mean more to me if I knew how important Vicious and Fearless turn out to be as the series develops.
October 26, 2022
Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem by Sean Cummings is marketed as a prequel to the Netflix live-action series Cowboy Bebop. It is actually the back story of Spike Spiegel long before he met Jet and joined him on the Bebop as his partner. This was before he even became Spike Spiegel. He was known as Fearless and was still friends with his latter-to-be enemy, Vicious.
I have seen several complaints that the cover was misleading and that is true. It pictures Spike, Jet, and Faye and in reality Jet and Faye are not in this book. The blurb on the back cover does make it clear that this is Spike's backstory, however.
My advice to anyone reading this novel is to forget about Cowboy Bebop completely. Just read it as a science fiction novel about two low-level gangsters who are given a chance to do a job that will improve their standing with the crime syndicate they work for. Unfortunately, they are set up for a fall and have to fight for their very lives.
I found this book to be a very entertaining read.
I have seen several complaints that the cover was misleading and that is true. It pictures Spike, Jet, and Faye and in reality Jet and Faye are not in this book. The blurb on the back cover does make it clear that this is Spike's backstory, however.
My advice to anyone reading this novel is to forget about Cowboy Bebop completely. Just read it as a science fiction novel about two low-level gangsters who are given a chance to do a job that will improve their standing with the crime syndicate they work for. Unfortunately, they are set up for a fall and have to fight for their very lives.
I found this book to be a very entertaining read.
March 19, 2022
Ruim? Sim. Pavoroso? Sim. Mas quando até o autor adimite que fez um trabalho meio merda, não tem como ficar surpreso com esse resultado...
April 21, 2022
you’re telling me you’re gonna put faye in the middle of the cover then she’s not gonna be in this story at all????? ok
May 31, 2022
W sumie sam nie wiem. Prequele to chyba nic dla mnie. Ciężko się ekscytować przygodami bohaterów, których dalsze losy są znane. Muszę zaznaczyć, że „Cowboya Bebopa” obejrzałem pierwszy raz w zeszłym roku. Potem obejrzałem serial fabularny będący „powtórką” z animowanego. Nie mam w związku z tym żadnych sentymentów związanych z tymi fabułami (choć zarówno oryginał, jak i serial fabularny podobały mi się, ale ten drugi mniej). Nie miał mnie ten prequel czym skusić. Ale nie było też strasznie. Fabuła dobrze skrojona, czyta sie ją bez bólu, Aczkolwiek nie mam wątpliwości, że szybko ją zapomnę.
December 21, 2021
This.... could have been a better read if it didn’t have a franchise glued to the cover. I didn’t get the cowboy bebop vibe from it, and I’m not a fan of the way emotions are told and not shown.
March 10, 2022
Cowboy Bebop: Red Planet Requiem: A Syndicate Story By Sean Cummings is a media tie-in novel based on the Netflix live action adaptation of the Cowboy Bebop anime.
Before Spike fled the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate and before a woman named Julia came along, Spike(Fearless) and Vicious were trusted partners in the biggest crime syndicate in the solar system. But Why Tho? What had forged this bond between these two individuals that feel worlds apart from each other? Here we find some of the answers to these questions.
While I knew all along that this book was a prequel to Netflix’s live action Cowboy Bebop series, I had presumed that its central character would be Spike. This doesn’t end up being the case. Rather than having this story focus on the fan-favorite character, Cummings’s story puts the spotlight on the villain Vicious. The book explores the his origins, his first encounters with his syndicate crime partner Fearless, as well as other revelations that seek to explain the man’s personality and his connections to several characters in the series. While Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem does give explanations for some of these personal connections it is hampered by a massive problem. This version of Vicious is still a pale comparison to the anime version.
It feels like this book set out to accomplish two things. Explain some of Vicoius’s ties to show’s characters, which it does well, and give the reader a greater sense of sympathy for Vicious character. This latter focus fails miserably.
Now don’t get me wrong. Vicious’s upbringing at the hands of a father who never missed an opportunity to remind his son that he was an abject failure certainly warrants compassion. That sort of coldness from a parental figure is one of the worst cruelties a child can endure. The extremes that Vicious’s father goes to in his attempts to “toughen up” his son are nothing short of twisted. I even have a basic enough understanding of psychology to understand how, despite how cruelly Vicious is treated by his father, he remains fixated on gaining the old man’s approval. But so many of the setbacks, failures, and life-threatening dangers that Vicious and Fearless end up facing come squarely from Vicious’s complete lack of competence in everything he does that it tramples over the sympathy the story seeks to build for the character, replacing it with frustration. It gets so bad that I can’t believe an interplanetary crime syndicate would even allow Vicious to be a part of it on any level. The only thing that keeps Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem from completely failing to entertain is the presence of Fearless (Spike) Though this still comes with some caveats.
Setting aside the fact that he is called Fearless instead of Spike here, though the book does explain where the moniker comes from, Fearless is frequently entertaining and feels like a character that could become the Spike Spiegal fans love. And no, I’m not talking about the live-action version, but rather the original anime series. That this character could be a predecessor of the heart-broken wanderer that is drifting through space clinging to the hope of reuniting with the love of his life is completely believable to me. However, since he is the forerunner of the Netflix live-action series, this character comes across decidedly differently. Rather than a previous evolution of Spike’s personality, Fearless feels like a near copy of the character viewers meet in the series. This closeness undercuts the profound impact of the events that drove him from the Syndicate are supposed to have on his life.
The story itself is told in two distinct parts. In the primary story, Vicious and Fearless have been stuck in low-level Syndicate jobs for years as they struggle to prove themselves to their bosses. When the duo finds themselves caught in the middle of a gang war between their organization and another, they soon find themselves on the run with little support from anyone.
The secondary plot that runs through this book jumps back to the duo’s teenage years and how they first meet. This plotline intends to impress upon the reader why Farless sticks with his old friend despite Vicious’s many, obvious shortcomings that are likely to get both of them killed. It fails. Rather, it cements the impression that Fearless sticks with his partner purely due to a sense of pity for the boy he met whose father was so cruel to him. I’ve allowed people to stick around in my life too long due to an overly strong sense of pity, but even I would’ve cut and run long before the primary storyline of this book took place. My suspension of disbelief just falls far too short to accept Fearless’s desire to stick with his friend.
Beyond the pair of main characters themselves, Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem delivers a decent enough prequel story on a page-to-page level. The plot has a couple of interesting twists and some of the supporting characters are well crafted and enjoyable. I particularly liked the duo’s closest ally in the story, Goldie. After just a single appearance in the book, I was wishing Fearless would ditch Vicious’s dead weight and team up with her.
Sadly, when all is said and done, Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem‘s solid plot can’t make up for the weakness of its primary character. Vicious fails on almost every level as an enticing main character. Despite his sympathetic origins with his crime lord father, he too frequently causes far too much trouble for himself to truly gain the reader’s sympathy. Despite it’s unlikeable main character. I’d give this novel a recommendation to anyone who’s a fan of the original anime, the recent Netflix show, or sci-fi in general.
Before Spike fled the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate and before a woman named Julia came along, Spike(Fearless) and Vicious were trusted partners in the biggest crime syndicate in the solar system. But Why Tho? What had forged this bond between these two individuals that feel worlds apart from each other? Here we find some of the answers to these questions.
While I knew all along that this book was a prequel to Netflix’s live action Cowboy Bebop series, I had presumed that its central character would be Spike. This doesn’t end up being the case. Rather than having this story focus on the fan-favorite character, Cummings’s story puts the spotlight on the villain Vicious. The book explores the his origins, his first encounters with his syndicate crime partner Fearless, as well as other revelations that seek to explain the man’s personality and his connections to several characters in the series. While Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem does give explanations for some of these personal connections it is hampered by a massive problem. This version of Vicious is still a pale comparison to the anime version.
It feels like this book set out to accomplish two things. Explain some of Vicoius’s ties to show’s characters, which it does well, and give the reader a greater sense of sympathy for Vicious character. This latter focus fails miserably.
Now don’t get me wrong. Vicious’s upbringing at the hands of a father who never missed an opportunity to remind his son that he was an abject failure certainly warrants compassion. That sort of coldness from a parental figure is one of the worst cruelties a child can endure. The extremes that Vicious’s father goes to in his attempts to “toughen up” his son are nothing short of twisted. I even have a basic enough understanding of psychology to understand how, despite how cruelly Vicious is treated by his father, he remains fixated on gaining the old man’s approval. But so many of the setbacks, failures, and life-threatening dangers that Vicious and Fearless end up facing come squarely from Vicious’s complete lack of competence in everything he does that it tramples over the sympathy the story seeks to build for the character, replacing it with frustration. It gets so bad that I can’t believe an interplanetary crime syndicate would even allow Vicious to be a part of it on any level. The only thing that keeps Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem from completely failing to entertain is the presence of Fearless (Spike) Though this still comes with some caveats.
Setting aside the fact that he is called Fearless instead of Spike here, though the book does explain where the moniker comes from, Fearless is frequently entertaining and feels like a character that could become the Spike Spiegal fans love. And no, I’m not talking about the live-action version, but rather the original anime series. That this character could be a predecessor of the heart-broken wanderer that is drifting through space clinging to the hope of reuniting with the love of his life is completely believable to me. However, since he is the forerunner of the Netflix live-action series, this character comes across decidedly differently. Rather than a previous evolution of Spike’s personality, Fearless feels like a near copy of the character viewers meet in the series. This closeness undercuts the profound impact of the events that drove him from the Syndicate are supposed to have on his life.
The story itself is told in two distinct parts. In the primary story, Vicious and Fearless have been stuck in low-level Syndicate jobs for years as they struggle to prove themselves to their bosses. When the duo finds themselves caught in the middle of a gang war between their organization and another, they soon find themselves on the run with little support from anyone.
The secondary plot that runs through this book jumps back to the duo’s teenage years and how they first meet. This plotline intends to impress upon the reader why Farless sticks with his old friend despite Vicious’s many, obvious shortcomings that are likely to get both of them killed. It fails. Rather, it cements the impression that Fearless sticks with his partner purely due to a sense of pity for the boy he met whose father was so cruel to him. I’ve allowed people to stick around in my life too long due to an overly strong sense of pity, but even I would’ve cut and run long before the primary storyline of this book took place. My suspension of disbelief just falls far too short to accept Fearless’s desire to stick with his friend.
Beyond the pair of main characters themselves, Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem delivers a decent enough prequel story on a page-to-page level. The plot has a couple of interesting twists and some of the supporting characters are well crafted and enjoyable. I particularly liked the duo’s closest ally in the story, Goldie. After just a single appearance in the book, I was wishing Fearless would ditch Vicious’s dead weight and team up with her.
Sadly, when all is said and done, Cowboy Bebop: A Syndicate Story: Red Planet Requiem‘s solid plot can’t make up for the weakness of its primary character. Vicious fails on almost every level as an enticing main character. Despite his sympathetic origins with his crime lord father, he too frequently causes far too much trouble for himself to truly gain the reader’s sympathy. Despite it’s unlikeable main character. I’d give this novel a recommendation to anyone who’s a fan of the original anime, the recent Netflix show, or sci-fi in general.
January 17, 2025
3/5
I wont try and sell you a dream, objectively, this book is pretty poor. If your looking for a fascinating prose or a well written soul hitter, then this book ain't it. But honestly, as a huge fan of the anime, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I saw another review compare this to a buddy cop movie, and I couldn't agree more, and I love buddy cop movies. The humour is great and I honestly found it hilarious to read, and while the plot is both shaky and full of holes, it's fun, and isn't that sometimes all that matters? If you were looking to be sold, then let me leave you with this, Spike, or 'fearless' as he's known here, responds to the antagonist with, " bad-a-bing, bad-a-boom." I think he's been watching too much Tony Di-Angelo.
I wont try and sell you a dream, objectively, this book is pretty poor. If your looking for a fascinating prose or a well written soul hitter, then this book ain't it. But honestly, as a huge fan of the anime, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I saw another review compare this to a buddy cop movie, and I couldn't agree more, and I love buddy cop movies. The humour is great and I honestly found it hilarious to read, and while the plot is both shaky and full of holes, it's fun, and isn't that sometimes all that matters? If you were looking to be sold, then let me leave you with this, Spike, or 'fearless' as he's known here, responds to the antagonist with, " bad-a-bing, bad-a-boom." I think he's been watching too much Tony Di-Angelo.
January 20, 2022
This is why the show wan't get another season. This changed all the character dynamics for the worst. Not respectful of the source material . So sad! Not every story needs the "American * polish". The voice actor for the audio version. Did a great job!
February 10, 2022
"-To życie kogoś, kto ceni przedmioty bardziej niż ludzi. Własność bardziej niż uczucia. Na przykład ta kanapa, na której siedzisz. Widzisz, została perfekcyjnie zaprojektowana. Każdy szew. Każdy ścieg. A ludzie nie są perfekcyjni. Popełniają błędy. Nie spełniają oczekiwań (...) Widzisz, meble można naprawić. A ludzi nie. Niezależnie od tego, jak bardzo się starasz."
"Cowboy Bebop. Requiem dla czerwonej planety" to powieściowy prequel serialu, który możemy obejrzeć na Netflix. Autorem powieści jest Sean Cummings, który jest...jednym ze scenarzystów serialu! To bardzo ważna informacja - po pierwsze książka nawiązuje do serialu aktorskiego, a nie bezpośrednio do kultowego anime, a po drugie - czyta się ją jak kolejny odcinek. Jeśli podobał Wam się serial aktorski nie ma co się dwa razy zastanawiać: "Requiem dla czerwonej planety" to idealne lekarstwo na serialowego kaca. Z pewnością nie jest to powieść doskonała, ale mi dostarczyła całkiem sporo rozrywki - a to właśnie chodzi w tego typie literaturze.
Powieść Cummingsa jest wpisana w pewne uniwersum i bez niego wypada przeciętnie. To tak jak z powieściami z uniwersum Star Wars - kto nigdy nie widział żadnego filmu raczej się tymi książkami nie zainteresuje. Czy można przeczytać "Requiem dla czerwonej planety" bez znajomości serialu? Jak najbardziej. W książce nie znajduje się ani jeden spojler, więc można ją także przeczytać przed serialem. Tylko po co? Powieść powstała z myślą o fanach Fearlessa/Spike'a, którzy chcą przeżyć z nim jeszcze jedną przygodę - tym razem osadzoną w jego młodości, kiedy to Vicious był jego najlepszym kumplem.
Sama historia jest prosta i dość przewidywalna - jednak jej siła tak naprawdę tkwi w przekomarzaniu się pary głównych bohaterów - potwierdzających, że przeciwieństwa się przyciągają. Dialogi są napisane z humorem, choć nie obeszło się od całkiem sporej dawki wulgaryzmów (ale jakim językiem mają się posługiwać kosmiczni gangsterzy?). Jak przystało dla tego uniwersum nie zabrakło i odrobiny absurdu - choć trzeba przyznać, że Autor, tak jak i serial, jest dużo bardziej zachowawczy niż anime, przez co zwyczajnie może trafić do szerszej publiczności, lubiącej połączenie wątków łowców głów, gangsterów i kosmicznych podróży.
"Cowboy Bebop" - czy to wydaniu animowanym, aktorskim, czy teraz książkowym - to opowieść mająca bardzo ciekawy klimat. Niby mamy przyszłość, planety zostały skolonizowane przez ludzi - a jednocześnie zamiast dominującej technologii bohaterowie jeżdżą starymi samochodami, używają pistoletów i słuchają jazzu - a kiedy broń zawiedzie, zawsze zostaje dobre, stare kung-fu! Jest to prawdziwy miszmasz rożnych motywów, które mogą wydawać się absurdalne i nielogiczne, ale jakoś razem grają - co przełożyło się na kultowy status anime. Moim zdaniem powieść Cummingsa idealnie się wpisała w ten klimat, a na brak logiki, prosty język i przewidywalność naprawdę można przymknąć oko - całość ma przede wszystkim bawić.
"Vicious nie spał całą noc, jego wzrok nieustannie był wbity w drzwi frontowe i strzegącego je portiera. Z kolei Fearless smacznie spał ze stopami położonymi na desce rodzielczej. Spał tak mocno, że nawet nie zauważył, że kompan trzy razy wyszedł z samochodu, by wrócić z kawą. Vicious był pod wrażeniem. Fearless nie spał jak dziecko. On spał jak niedźwiedź zahibernowany w dźwiękoszczelnym schronie przeciwatomowym."
"Requiem dla czerwonej planety" czytało mi się naprawdę przyjemnie - nie raz zaśmiałam się z tekstów rzucanych przez bohaterów. Już otwierający akapit bardzo mi się spodobał - rozważania na temat użycia słowa "bryzga" do opisania wyciekającej krwi podczas sprzątania miejsca zbrodni. Od razu skojarzył mi się z jednym z moich ulubionych filmów - "Pulp Fiction" - i rozmowami prowadzonymi przez bohaterów granych przez Johna Travoltę i Samuela L. Jacksona. Jeśli miałabym się czegoś przyczepić to serialowa okładka. Z jednej strony to istotny sygnał, że książka nawiązuje do serialu - z drugiej jednak niepotrzebnie przedstawia postacie, które Fearless pozna dopiero jako Spike - a więc postacie, których w powieści nie ma. Mnie to w ogóle nie przeszkadzało, jednak warto to podkreślić. Na koniec podkreślę, że nie wiem, czy bawiłabym się równie dobrze nie znając serialu aktorskiego - szczerze w to wątpię. Polecam zatem najpierw obejrzeć (najlepiej kilka odcinków, bo to typ serialu, który potrzebuje trochę czasu żeby wkręcić widza) - i jeśli klimat się spodoba sięgnąć po powieść. Dobra zabawa murowana!
"Cowboy Bebop. Requiem dla czerwonej planety" to powieściowy prequel serialu, który możemy obejrzeć na Netflix. Autorem powieści jest Sean Cummings, który jest...jednym ze scenarzystów serialu! To bardzo ważna informacja - po pierwsze książka nawiązuje do serialu aktorskiego, a nie bezpośrednio do kultowego anime, a po drugie - czyta się ją jak kolejny odcinek. Jeśli podobał Wam się serial aktorski nie ma co się dwa razy zastanawiać: "Requiem dla czerwonej planety" to idealne lekarstwo na serialowego kaca. Z pewnością nie jest to powieść doskonała, ale mi dostarczyła całkiem sporo rozrywki - a to właśnie chodzi w tego typie literaturze.
Powieść Cummingsa jest wpisana w pewne uniwersum i bez niego wypada przeciętnie. To tak jak z powieściami z uniwersum Star Wars - kto nigdy nie widział żadnego filmu raczej się tymi książkami nie zainteresuje. Czy można przeczytać "Requiem dla czerwonej planety" bez znajomości serialu? Jak najbardziej. W książce nie znajduje się ani jeden spojler, więc można ją także przeczytać przed serialem. Tylko po co? Powieść powstała z myślą o fanach Fearlessa/Spike'a, którzy chcą przeżyć z nim jeszcze jedną przygodę - tym razem osadzoną w jego młodości, kiedy to Vicious był jego najlepszym kumplem.
Sama historia jest prosta i dość przewidywalna - jednak jej siła tak naprawdę tkwi w przekomarzaniu się pary głównych bohaterów - potwierdzających, że przeciwieństwa się przyciągają. Dialogi są napisane z humorem, choć nie obeszło się od całkiem sporej dawki wulgaryzmów (ale jakim językiem mają się posługiwać kosmiczni gangsterzy?). Jak przystało dla tego uniwersum nie zabrakło i odrobiny absurdu - choć trzeba przyznać, że Autor, tak jak i serial, jest dużo bardziej zachowawczy niż anime, przez co zwyczajnie może trafić do szerszej publiczności, lubiącej połączenie wątków łowców głów, gangsterów i kosmicznych podróży.
"Cowboy Bebop" - czy to wydaniu animowanym, aktorskim, czy teraz książkowym - to opowieść mająca bardzo ciekawy klimat. Niby mamy przyszłość, planety zostały skolonizowane przez ludzi - a jednocześnie zamiast dominującej technologii bohaterowie jeżdżą starymi samochodami, używają pistoletów i słuchają jazzu - a kiedy broń zawiedzie, zawsze zostaje dobre, stare kung-fu! Jest to prawdziwy miszmasz rożnych motywów, które mogą wydawać się absurdalne i nielogiczne, ale jakoś razem grają - co przełożyło się na kultowy status anime. Moim zdaniem powieść Cummingsa idealnie się wpisała w ten klimat, a na brak logiki, prosty język i przewidywalność naprawdę można przymknąć oko - całość ma przede wszystkim bawić.
"Vicious nie spał całą noc, jego wzrok nieustannie był wbity w drzwi frontowe i strzegącego je portiera. Z kolei Fearless smacznie spał ze stopami położonymi na desce rodzielczej. Spał tak mocno, że nawet nie zauważył, że kompan trzy razy wyszedł z samochodu, by wrócić z kawą. Vicious był pod wrażeniem. Fearless nie spał jak dziecko. On spał jak niedźwiedź zahibernowany w dźwiękoszczelnym schronie przeciwatomowym."
"Requiem dla czerwonej planety" czytało mi się naprawdę przyjemnie - nie raz zaśmiałam się z tekstów rzucanych przez bohaterów. Już otwierający akapit bardzo mi się spodobał - rozważania na temat użycia słowa "bryzga" do opisania wyciekającej krwi podczas sprzątania miejsca zbrodni. Od razu skojarzył mi się z jednym z moich ulubionych filmów - "Pulp Fiction" - i rozmowami prowadzonymi przez bohaterów granych przez Johna Travoltę i Samuela L. Jacksona. Jeśli miałabym się czegoś przyczepić to serialowa okładka. Z jednej strony to istotny sygnał, że książka nawiązuje do serialu - z drugiej jednak niepotrzebnie przedstawia postacie, które Fearless pozna dopiero jako Spike - a więc postacie, których w powieści nie ma. Mnie to w ogóle nie przeszkadzało, jednak warto to podkreślić. Na koniec podkreślę, że nie wiem, czy bawiłabym się równie dobrze nie znając serialu aktorskiego - szczerze w to wątpię. Polecam zatem najpierw obejrzeć (najlepiej kilka odcinków, bo to typ serialu, który potrzebuje trochę czasu żeby wkręcić widza) - i jeśli klimat się spodoba sięgnąć po powieść. Dobra zabawa murowana!
January 10, 2022
Nadawany w latach 1998-1999 serial „Cowboy Bebop” cieszy się sławą jednego z najlepszych anime w dziejach japońskiej popkultury, należy też do jednych z najbardziej rozpoznawalnych anime na Zachodzie. Animacja z 1998 roku składa się z dwudziestu sześciu odcinków i przedstawia losy grupy łowców nagród, działających w latach 70. XXI wieku, którzy przemierzają Układ Słoneczny w poszukiwaniu przestępców. Animowane przygody łowców nagród, podróżujących statkiem kosmicznym o nazwie „Bebop”, mają liczne rzesze oddanych fanów. 19 listopada 2021 roku premierę miał serial aktorski wykonany przez Netflix, adaptujący animowany oryginał. Można o nim powiedzieć wiele, ale nie to, że dorównał oryginałowi. Jak na jego tle wypada książka, która ukazała się na rynku przy okazji premiery serialu?
Książka stanowi prequel serialu, historia w niej opowiedziana rozgrywa się przed wydarzeniami, które możemy w nim zobaczyć. W książce poznajemy losy młodych Viciousa i Fearlessa (czyli Spike’a), którzy pracują na najniższym szczeblu Gangu Czerwonego Smoka. Mają jednak aspirację na dużo więcej. Kiedy otrzymują od szefa z pozoru proste zadanie, wiedzą, że oto otwiera się przed nimi furtka, która zaprowadzi ich na sam szczyt mafijnej hierarchii. Mają tylko dostarczyć komuś walizkę. Sprawa jest prosta, czy coś może pójść nie tak? Może. Spike i Viocius wpadają w dość poważne tarapaty, z których razem będą musieli się wykaraskać.
Rok 2161, postapokaliptyczny świat przyszłości, w którym ludzkość opanowała kosmos, a przy okazji nieźle w nim naśmieciła. Układ Słoneczny został opanowany przez kryminalistów. Kosmos w tej odległej przeszłości to bardzo niebezpieczne miejsce, w którym rządy sprawuje Gang Czerwonego Smoka. Głównych bohaterów poznajemy, kiedy robią porządki po załatwieniu sprawy przez jednego z profesjonalnych zabójców Gangu, a dokładniej muszą sprzątnąć zwłoki ofiary. Od samego początku akcja gna na pełnych obrotach, można bardzo łatwo wyobrazić sobie wydarzenia jako sceny z serialu. Stylem książka przypomina trochę styl serialu, w sumie nic dziwnego, bo autorem książki jest Sean Cummings, który jest jednocześnie jednym ze scenarzystów serialu. Akcja powieści jest bardzo dynamiczna, są strzelanki, pościgi, lanie się po gębach i odpowiednia dawka przekleństw, a także całkiem sporo męskiego gadania. Jestem pewna, że kwestie, które wygłasza Spike u niejednego odbiorcy wywołają uśmiech na twarzy.
Historia przedstawiona w książce nie jest jednak zbyt wyszukana, rozwiązania zagadki też można się szybko domyślić, a i wiele rzeczy w trakcie przewidzieć. Jakoś specjalnie zaskakująca nie jest. Natomiast jako pozycja rozrywkowa i wprowadzenie do serialu sprawdzi się ta pozycja znakomicie. I przede wszystkim jest to książka skierowana do fanów anime i/lub serialu i to im właśnie w pierwszej kolejności mogę ją polecić. Sądzę jednak, że nawet nie znając anime czy serialu, z powodzeniem można odnaleźć się w tej publikacji i miło spędzić z nią jeden lub kilka wieczorów. Książka nie jest długa i dobrze się ją czyta. A przede wszystkim jest konkretna. Nie znajdziecie w niej zbędnych wypełniaczy. Przedstawione w książce postaci charakterologicznie odpowiadają tym znanym z serialu. Mowa tu przede wszystkim o Spike’u, bo o Viciousie niewiele było wiadomo w anime. W serialu te braki zostały uzupełnione, a w książce możemy przeczytać rozszerzoną wersję historii tego bohatera. Poszerzoną dodatkowo o jego przeszłość, z której dowiadujemy się, jak wyglądało jego dzieciństwo i jak poznał Fearlessa. Muszę w tym miejscu wspomnieć, że fabuła prowadzona jest na dwóch płaszczyznach czasowych i część, która dzieje się w przeszłości jest tą bardziej emocjonalną, bo pozwala obserwować, jak przez trudne dzieciństwo został ukształtowany charakter bohaterów. Vicious i Fearless to wyjątkowo interesujący duet twardzieli, którzy na długo przed tym zanim stali się wrogami, byli przyjaciółmi. To wymiana zdań pomiędzy tą dwójką, pełna ciętego humoru i trafnych ripost, jest najbardziej ciekawym aspektem książki, dzięki któremu czyta się ten tytuł z prawdziwą przyjemnością.
Książka „Cowboy Bebop. Requiem dla Czerwonej Planety” to całkiem ciekawy, dobrze napisany dodatek do kultowego anime i nieco gorzej odbieranego serialu Netflixa, który z powodzeniem mogę polecić fanom obu wspomnianych, a także każdemu, kto chciałby rozpocząć swoją przygodę z tą produkcją.
Książka stanowi prequel serialu, historia w niej opowiedziana rozgrywa się przed wydarzeniami, które możemy w nim zobaczyć. W książce poznajemy losy młodych Viciousa i Fearlessa (czyli Spike’a), którzy pracują na najniższym szczeblu Gangu Czerwonego Smoka. Mają jednak aspirację na dużo więcej. Kiedy otrzymują od szefa z pozoru proste zadanie, wiedzą, że oto otwiera się przed nimi furtka, która zaprowadzi ich na sam szczyt mafijnej hierarchii. Mają tylko dostarczyć komuś walizkę. Sprawa jest prosta, czy coś może pójść nie tak? Może. Spike i Viocius wpadają w dość poważne tarapaty, z których razem będą musieli się wykaraskać.
Rok 2161, postapokaliptyczny świat przyszłości, w którym ludzkość opanowała kosmos, a przy okazji nieźle w nim naśmieciła. Układ Słoneczny został opanowany przez kryminalistów. Kosmos w tej odległej przeszłości to bardzo niebezpieczne miejsce, w którym rządy sprawuje Gang Czerwonego Smoka. Głównych bohaterów poznajemy, kiedy robią porządki po załatwieniu sprawy przez jednego z profesjonalnych zabójców Gangu, a dokładniej muszą sprzątnąć zwłoki ofiary. Od samego początku akcja gna na pełnych obrotach, można bardzo łatwo wyobrazić sobie wydarzenia jako sceny z serialu. Stylem książka przypomina trochę styl serialu, w sumie nic dziwnego, bo autorem książki jest Sean Cummings, który jest jednocześnie jednym ze scenarzystów serialu. Akcja powieści jest bardzo dynamiczna, są strzelanki, pościgi, lanie się po gębach i odpowiednia dawka przekleństw, a także całkiem sporo męskiego gadania. Jestem pewna, że kwestie, które wygłasza Spike u niejednego odbiorcy wywołają uśmiech na twarzy.
Historia przedstawiona w książce nie jest jednak zbyt wyszukana, rozwiązania zagadki też można się szybko domyślić, a i wiele rzeczy w trakcie przewidzieć. Jakoś specjalnie zaskakująca nie jest. Natomiast jako pozycja rozrywkowa i wprowadzenie do serialu sprawdzi się ta pozycja znakomicie. I przede wszystkim jest to książka skierowana do fanów anime i/lub serialu i to im właśnie w pierwszej kolejności mogę ją polecić. Sądzę jednak, że nawet nie znając anime czy serialu, z powodzeniem można odnaleźć się w tej publikacji i miło spędzić z nią jeden lub kilka wieczorów. Książka nie jest długa i dobrze się ją czyta. A przede wszystkim jest konkretna. Nie znajdziecie w niej zbędnych wypełniaczy. Przedstawione w książce postaci charakterologicznie odpowiadają tym znanym z serialu. Mowa tu przede wszystkim o Spike’u, bo o Viciousie niewiele było wiadomo w anime. W serialu te braki zostały uzupełnione, a w książce możemy przeczytać rozszerzoną wersję historii tego bohatera. Poszerzoną dodatkowo o jego przeszłość, z której dowiadujemy się, jak wyglądało jego dzieciństwo i jak poznał Fearlessa. Muszę w tym miejscu wspomnieć, że fabuła prowadzona jest na dwóch płaszczyznach czasowych i część, która dzieje się w przeszłości jest tą bardziej emocjonalną, bo pozwala obserwować, jak przez trudne dzieciństwo został ukształtowany charakter bohaterów. Vicious i Fearless to wyjątkowo interesujący duet twardzieli, którzy na długo przed tym zanim stali się wrogami, byli przyjaciółmi. To wymiana zdań pomiędzy tą dwójką, pełna ciętego humoru i trafnych ripost, jest najbardziej ciekawym aspektem książki, dzięki któremu czyta się ten tytuł z prawdziwą przyjemnością.
Książka „Cowboy Bebop. Requiem dla Czerwonej Planety” to całkiem ciekawy, dobrze napisany dodatek do kultowego anime i nieco gorzej odbieranego serialu Netflixa, który z powodzeniem mogę polecić fanom obu wspomnianych, a także każdemu, kto chciałby rozpocząć swoją przygodę z tą produkcją.
December 21, 2021
"Cowboy Bebop" to niesamowity tytuł, która łączy w sobie wiele pozornie kompletnie niepasujących do siebie elementów. Oto lądujemy w postapokaliptycznym świecie przyszłości, w którym ludzkość opanowała (i zaśmieciła) chyba wszystkie planety kosmosu. Jednocześnie całość ma silny klimat lat '80, kowboje walczą z gangsterami, a po wytrąceniu pistoletu z ręki wszyscy zaczynają bić się w stylu kung fu. Ten miszmasz dopełnia jazzowa muzyka i to chyba najważniejszy element "Cowboya...". Motyw przewodni wchodzi do głowy jak nóż w masło, wystarczy, że spojrzę na logo serii na okładce i już słyszę słowa piosenki "3, 2, 1 let's jam". To jeden z tych seriali, gdzie nie pomija się czołówki!
No właśnie, bo "Cowboy Bebop" to przede wszystkim kultowe anime lat '90, a aktualnie również serial aktorski emitowany na Netfliksie. Obie wersje są dostępne w serwisie, zachęcam do obejrzenia. Nowa produkcja bardzo mi się podobała, choć widziałam, że wielu fanów kręciło na nią nosem. Uważam, że aktorzy świetnie się odnaleźli w swoich rolach, a twórcy bardzo dobrze dostosowali fabułę do trochę innej formy i "poczuli ten rytm". Tak samo zresztą jak Sean Cummings, autor książki z tego nietuzinkowego uniwersum.
"Requiem dla Czerwonej Planety" to pozycja dla fanów i to im przede wszystkim polecam powieść. Spike jest postacią bardzo skrytą, często kiedy ma powiedzieć coś o sobie, odwraca kota ogonem. Wiemy od początku, że łączyła go jakaś przeszłość z Viciousem (to główny złol dla niewtajemniczonych!), ale co dokładnie między nimi zaszło? Tu z pomocą przychodzi książka i bardzo się cieszę, że takowa powstała. Wypełniła lukę w całej tej opowieści i pozwoliła mi lepiej zrozumieć skomplikowaną osobowość Viciousa.
Wbrew serialowej okładce, nie zobaczymy tutaj innych z załogi Bebopa, więc nie ma się co na to nastawiać. Fabuła jest prosta, rozwiązania zagadki domyśliłam się dosyć szybko, ale i tak książka dostarcza rozrywki. Jest lanie się po gębach, trochę przekleństw i "męskiej" gadki, jest jazz, czyli wszystko, co kosmiczne syntetyczne tygryski lubią najbardziej.
No właśnie, bo "Cowboy Bebop" to przede wszystkim kultowe anime lat '90, a aktualnie również serial aktorski emitowany na Netfliksie. Obie wersje są dostępne w serwisie, zachęcam do obejrzenia. Nowa produkcja bardzo mi się podobała, choć widziałam, że wielu fanów kręciło na nią nosem. Uważam, że aktorzy świetnie się odnaleźli w swoich rolach, a twórcy bardzo dobrze dostosowali fabułę do trochę innej formy i "poczuli ten rytm". Tak samo zresztą jak Sean Cummings, autor książki z tego nietuzinkowego uniwersum.
"Requiem dla Czerwonej Planety" to pozycja dla fanów i to im przede wszystkim polecam powieść. Spike jest postacią bardzo skrytą, często kiedy ma powiedzieć coś o sobie, odwraca kota ogonem. Wiemy od początku, że łączyła go jakaś przeszłość z Viciousem (to główny złol dla niewtajemniczonych!), ale co dokładnie między nimi zaszło? Tu z pomocą przychodzi książka i bardzo się cieszę, że takowa powstała. Wypełniła lukę w całej tej opowieści i pozwoliła mi lepiej zrozumieć skomplikowaną osobowość Viciousa.
Wbrew serialowej okładce, nie zobaczymy tutaj innych z załogi Bebopa, więc nie ma się co na to nastawiać. Fabuła jest prosta, rozwiązania zagadki domyśliłam się dosyć szybko, ale i tak książka dostarcza rozrywki. Jest lanie się po gębach, trochę przekleństw i "męskiej" gadki, jest jazz, czyli wszystko, co kosmiczne syntetyczne tygryski lubią najbardziej.
May 31, 2023
Give me pulp cowboy-mafia fiction, but make it sci fi - thanks! You would think that, considering my tastes, there’s no way that I would be into the ridiculous mash-up of genres that is Cowboy Bebop, but somehow I can’t get enough of Spike Spiegel and his motley crew of space age bounty hunters! Sean Cummings went a little bit off book with this story, since it is far removed from the original manga/anime storylines, and takes us back to a time before Spike was the man we know. In this story, we see him during his era as Fearless, cleaner/gopher for the Red Dragon Cartel and partner in arms to Vicious, his later rival. It’s definitely a bit weird to see the two men as comrades, but Cummings does a decent job of painting a gritty but brilliant picture of their time in the slums of Mars as low level mafiosos. Considering that we don’t get a lot of their backstory in any of the original Cowboy Bebop, it was fun to see a base storyarc building towards the events of the Netflix live action series that seemed pretty plausible. Cummings stayed on brand with an action-packed storyline, fight scenes that skewed towards the ridiculous, and a well-balanced blend of high- and low-tech – all of which continues to make the franchise so unique and appealing. Even if his writing was a little scripted and camp, it’s an easy thing to forgive within the Cowboy Bebop universe, since high brow style writing would seem out of place, and we are looking instead towards driving storylines and light character development for our kicks. It’s too bad that the Netflix series that got this book published tanked with viewers, and this ended up being the only associated novelization, since I actually quite enjoyed the easy action of the story and revisiting one of my favourite anime settings. Until they decide to remake it again I guess this is it… see you, Space Cowboy!
January 2, 2022
Do tej pory nie miałam styczności ze światem związanym z anime "Cowboya Bebop", natomiast premiera aktorskiego serialu i książki, stanowiącej do niego prequel uznałam za idealną okazję, żeby choć trochę uszczknąć tego kultowego dzieła w odświeżonej formie :)
Przenosimy w odległą przyszłość, gdzie ludzie już dawno wyszli poza Ziemię, a wszechświatem rządzą gangi mafijne. W bezkompromisowym świecie dwóch nowicjuszy próbuje odnaleźć drogę do wejścia na szczyt mafijnej rodziny - proste zadanie od szefa wydaje się być ku temu idealną furtką, jednak sprawy przybierają nieoczekiwany obrót...
Historię poznajemy z dwóch perspektyw czasowych - początków znajomości bohaterów w trudach dzieciństwa w Kanałach i z obecnych wydarzeń. Vicious i Fearless to dwóch twardzieli, mierzących się z mrokiem świata zewnętrznego i tym wewnątrz każdego z nich. Jest to ciekawy duet, z przyjemnością czytałam wymiany zdań pomiędzy nimi, pełne ripost i ciętego humoru, a i często odrobiny filozofii życiowej. Są oni zdecydowanie najmocniejszą stroną ksiązki.
Akcja dzieje w "netflixowym" stylu - jest szybko, głośno, niekiedy z przymrużeniem oka. Styl książki podporządkowany jest już wyraźnie pod styl serialu, więc czytając wprost widziało się oczyma wyobraźni, jak mogłoby być poszczególne sceny nakręcone.
Jest to książka w sam raz na chęć odstresowania od codzienności poprzez zagłębienie w adrenalinę innego świata. Są pościgi, strzelaniny, poczucie humoru i ciekawi bohaterowie. Całość kończy się w otwarty sposób, co zachęca do odpalenia serialu. Ja tam chętnie poznam dalsze losy bohaterów, czuję się skutecznie zachęcona, więc i książkę mogę śmiało polecić :)
Przenosimy w odległą przyszłość, gdzie ludzie już dawno wyszli poza Ziemię, a wszechświatem rządzą gangi mafijne. W bezkompromisowym świecie dwóch nowicjuszy próbuje odnaleźć drogę do wejścia na szczyt mafijnej rodziny - proste zadanie od szefa wydaje się być ku temu idealną furtką, jednak sprawy przybierają nieoczekiwany obrót...
Historię poznajemy z dwóch perspektyw czasowych - początków znajomości bohaterów w trudach dzieciństwa w Kanałach i z obecnych wydarzeń. Vicious i Fearless to dwóch twardzieli, mierzących się z mrokiem świata zewnętrznego i tym wewnątrz każdego z nich. Jest to ciekawy duet, z przyjemnością czytałam wymiany zdań pomiędzy nimi, pełne ripost i ciętego humoru, a i często odrobiny filozofii życiowej. Są oni zdecydowanie najmocniejszą stroną ksiązki.
Akcja dzieje w "netflixowym" stylu - jest szybko, głośno, niekiedy z przymrużeniem oka. Styl książki podporządkowany jest już wyraźnie pod styl serialu, więc czytając wprost widziało się oczyma wyobraźni, jak mogłoby być poszczególne sceny nakręcone.
Jest to książka w sam raz na chęć odstresowania od codzienności poprzez zagłębienie w adrenalinę innego świata. Są pościgi, strzelaniny, poczucie humoru i ciekawi bohaterowie. Całość kończy się w otwarty sposób, co zachęca do odpalenia serialu. Ja tam chętnie poznam dalsze losy bohaterów, czuję się skutecznie zachęcona, więc i książkę mogę śmiało polecić :)
January 16, 2022
I'm not going to lie to you. If you go into this expecting "the further adventures of the crew of the Bebop" you are going to be disappointed. Towards that end, I'm not sure why, other than for marketing reasons, Jett and Faye appear on the cover. This tale provides the backstory of Vicious and
Fearless (Spike).
If you go into it looking for that, you will enjoy it a lot more.
The story actually shuttles between two points in the characters' lives, right before they become real members of the Syndicate and when they first met. The latter is an interesting story of two very different kids from different backgrounds who team up to survive a horrible situation. The former is an adventure, that while it definitely feels like something that could happen to Spike, sometimes feels like it is happening in the present and not on a far flung planet.
There were a couple of other things which detracted from my enjoyment. One is strictly a characteristic of the audiobook. The author sets up the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate as something very similar to the Mafia of the Godfather era. The narrator, however, insists on pronouncing "capo" with a long a sound.
The other issue I had was the overuse of adjectives. The characters never simply do something, they do it quietly, softly, quickly. In one section "quickly" was used four times in six sentences.
Beyond these nitpicks, Red Planet Requiem is an entertaining and amusing adventure.
Fearless (Spike).
If you go into it looking for that, you will enjoy it a lot more.
The story actually shuttles between two points in the characters' lives, right before they become real members of the Syndicate and when they first met. The latter is an interesting story of two very different kids from different backgrounds who team up to survive a horrible situation. The former is an adventure, that while it definitely feels like something that could happen to Spike, sometimes feels like it is happening in the present and not on a far flung planet.
There were a couple of other things which detracted from my enjoyment. One is strictly a characteristic of the audiobook. The author sets up the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate as something very similar to the Mafia of the Godfather era. The narrator, however, insists on pronouncing "capo" with a long a sound.
The other issue I had was the overuse of adjectives. The characters never simply do something, they do it quietly, softly, quickly. In one section "quickly" was used four times in six sentences.
Beyond these nitpicks, Red Planet Requiem is an entertaining and amusing adventure.
April 1, 2022
This was...not good. I haven't seen the live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation yet, so I don't know how this compares to that, but I can say that it has next to nothing in common with the original anime. Which I didn't really expect anyway, so that wasn't a huge deal. But man, this was so stupid. The writing is very amateurish and full of typos and the author apparently didn't learn how commas and apostrophes work. And certain turns of phrase were abused quite extensively. If I ever hear someone say they "clocked" or that their eyes "ticked", I might have a nervous breakdown. The odd—and constant—use of "When" also drove me batty. Example: "Vicious climbed out [...]. Fearless followed. When, Goldie called out to them." It's awkward and the author uses it at least every other page.
Grammatical errors and eccentricities aside, the book was fairly entertaining at times. For several chapters in the middle, it was actually pretty interesting. But overall, it was very formulaic and often read like a fanfic that rips off a dozen action movies. And speaking of action: many of the action sequences make no sense whatsoever. That goes for the overall plot as well. And the sudden sex scenes. And the ending. Oof, that ending! I can't say I didn't see it coming, but it was so abrupt and felt so out of character for one of our protagonists. I'll give this an extra star for the decent middle section, but I can't recommend reading it.
Grammatical errors and eccentricities aside, the book was fairly entertaining at times. For several chapters in the middle, it was actually pretty interesting. But overall, it was very formulaic and often read like a fanfic that rips off a dozen action movies. And speaking of action: many of the action sequences make no sense whatsoever. That goes for the overall plot as well. And the sudden sex scenes. And the ending. Oof, that ending! I can't say I didn't see it coming, but it was so abrupt and felt so out of character for one of our protagonists. I'll give this an extra star for the decent middle section, but I can't recommend reading it.
January 23, 2022
Książka mi się podobała i bardzo dobrze się przy niej bawiłem. Była to dla mnie świetna rozrywka, przy której mogłem się oderwać od rzeczywistego świata. Historia mnie po prostu wciągnęła. Trzeba przyznać, że nie jest to jakaś wybitna książka, ale dla rozrywki idealna. Jest lekka, fajna, zabawna i nie da się przy niej nudzić - mamy tu akcję za akcją. W książce mamy pokazane dwie linie czasowe. Osobiście bardziej podobała mi się ta z przeszłości, ponieważ wywołała u mnie więcej emocji. Bardziej się w tą historię zaangażowałem. Główni bohaterowie - Vicious i Fearless dobrze wykreowani. Są to dwa różne charaktery, ale mimo to są do siebie podobni. Główną zaletą tej książki jest humor. Były momenty, które bardzo mnie rozbawiły. Warto też dodać, że jest też w pewnych momentach brutalna, co dla mnie jest na plus. Książka jest głównie dla fanów kultowego anime, na podstawie której można obejrzeć też serial na Netflix. Mimo, że nie oglądałem anime to bardzo dobrze się bawiłem czytając tą pozycję. A jeśli chodzi o adaptacje Netflixową to skończyłem oglądać pierwszy odcinek i serial zapowiada się znakomicie.
7,5/10
3,5/5
December 30, 2023
Rating: 4 stars
I'm listing this as a light novel and part of the Cowboy Bebop manga universe. This is a backstory and fans will enjoy learning about the beginnings of Spike and Vicious's friendship. I really never wanted to feel sorry for Vicious, but I do after reading this book.
Discover the origins of the classic rivalry between Spike and Vicious amongst the dark underbelly of Mars, 2161! The Red Dragon Crime Syndicate is king, and for all those lucky enough to be members of this crime family, life is damn good. For two entry-level gangsters in Tharsis City, Mars, life in the Syndicate isn't quite all guns and glamour. Long before they were mortal enemies, Spike Spiegel (Fearless) and Vicious were just two friends clawing their way up the crime ladder and trying to have a little fun while doing it. But when an opportunity to pull a job for their boss arises, it's "make or break" time. All they have to do is deliver a suitcase. How hard could it be?
I'm listing this as a light novel and part of the Cowboy Bebop manga universe. This is a backstory and fans will enjoy learning about the beginnings of Spike and Vicious's friendship. I really never wanted to feel sorry for Vicious, but I do after reading this book.
Discover the origins of the classic rivalry between Spike and Vicious amongst the dark underbelly of Mars, 2161! The Red Dragon Crime Syndicate is king, and for all those lucky enough to be members of this crime family, life is damn good. For two entry-level gangsters in Tharsis City, Mars, life in the Syndicate isn't quite all guns and glamour. Long before they were mortal enemies, Spike Spiegel (Fearless) and Vicious were just two friends clawing their way up the crime ladder and trying to have a little fun while doing it. But when an opportunity to pull a job for their boss arises, it's "make or break" time. All they have to do is deliver a suitcase. How hard could it be?
February 10, 2022
I only know a little bit of the Cowboy Bebop world from the anime and one or two of the episodes of Netflix live action series. I liked this prequel story of two friends as seen in flashbacks in the fighting pits and current time as low-level mob 'janitors', just trying to make the best of each situation as it comes. Mistakes happen, good things happen, they roll with the punches so to speak as best they can. If you like smart-ass science fiction like I do and even if you aren't into the Cowboy Bebop fandom, this is an enjoyable book. Especially to listen to.
Now off to find the intro music. I love that intro. It's part of what makes me a newly minted fan of the show, both varietals.
I can recommend this book and author. And the anime and if -you- don't- get- wrapped -around -the -axle -about- the -live-action- not -being -the -same- as- the- anime, then I can recommend that too.
Now off to find the intro music. I love that intro. It's part of what makes me a newly minted fan of the show, both varietals.
I can recommend this book and author. And the anime and if -you- don't- get- wrapped -around -the -axle -about- the -live-action- not -being -the -same- as- the- anime, then I can recommend that too.
February 8, 2022
Nigdy wcześniej nie słyszałam o anime „Cowboy Bebop”, nie widziałam też produkcji Netflixa, więc nie wiedziałam, czego się spodziewać, ale opis książki brzmiał ciekawie i dlatego postanowiłam po nią sięgnąć. Mimo braku znajomości anime, szybko zrozumiałam, o co chodzi w tym świecie.
Vicious i Fearless to dwójka mężczyzn, którzy pracują dla największego gangu w układzie słonecznym. Jeden z nich chce piąć się w jego hierarchii, a drugi niekoniecznie. I to właśnie główni bohaterowie są najmocniejszą stroną tej książki. Ich przekomarzanie, docinki, a także walka z samym sobą i wewnętrznymi demonami, powodowały, że czytałam dalej.
Autor wprowadził dwie linie czasowe – w jednej obserwujemy aktualne wydarzenia, dorosłych bohaterów, a w drugiej cofamy się do ich przeszłości i do momentu, w którym się poznali i zaczęli przyjaźnić. I to ta druga była dla mnie ciekawsza, wywołała więcej emocji, bo była bardziej mroczna.
Książka ma trochę nielogiczności – bo jakim sposobem główny bohater widzi twarz człowieka, który wypadł z 80 piętra i leży na ziemi? To tylko jeden z przykładów. Cała historia nie jest zbyt skomplikowana, rozwiązania można domyślić się szybko, a także wiele rzeczy idzie przewidzieć. Nie jest to długa historia, bo ma zaledwie 280 stron. I chociaż na początku przerażała mnie mała czcionka, to książka wciągnęła mnie na tyle, że przeczytałam ją w dwa wieczory. Nie ma w niej też zbędnych opisów, same konkrety i akcja. Czułam się czasami, jakbym oglądała jakiś film sensacyjny. Znaleźć można tutaj też sporą ilość przemocy i przekleństw. Traktowałam tę książkę jako czystą rozrywkę, nic wymagającego, i miło spędziłam przy niej czas. Zachęciła mnie również na tyle, żeby obejrzeć zarówno serial Netflixa, jak i anime, bo po prostu lubię takie klimaty.
Vicious i Fearless to dwójka mężczyzn, którzy pracują dla największego gangu w układzie słonecznym. Jeden z nich chce piąć się w jego hierarchii, a drugi niekoniecznie. I to właśnie główni bohaterowie są najmocniejszą stroną tej książki. Ich przekomarzanie, docinki, a także walka z samym sobą i wewnętrznymi demonami, powodowały, że czytałam dalej.
Autor wprowadził dwie linie czasowe – w jednej obserwujemy aktualne wydarzenia, dorosłych bohaterów, a w drugiej cofamy się do ich przeszłości i do momentu, w którym się poznali i zaczęli przyjaźnić. I to ta druga była dla mnie ciekawsza, wywołała więcej emocji, bo była bardziej mroczna.
Książka ma trochę nielogiczności – bo jakim sposobem główny bohater widzi twarz człowieka, który wypadł z 80 piętra i leży na ziemi? To tylko jeden z przykładów. Cała historia nie jest zbyt skomplikowana, rozwiązania można domyślić się szybko, a także wiele rzeczy idzie przewidzieć. Nie jest to długa historia, bo ma zaledwie 280 stron. I chociaż na początku przerażała mnie mała czcionka, to książka wciągnęła mnie na tyle, że przeczytałam ją w dwa wieczory. Nie ma w niej też zbędnych opisów, same konkrety i akcja. Czułam się czasami, jakbym oglądała jakiś film sensacyjny. Znaleźć można tutaj też sporą ilość przemocy i przekleństw. Traktowałam tę książkę jako czystą rozrywkę, nic wymagającego, i miło spędziłam przy niej czas. Zachęciła mnie również na tyle, żeby obejrzeć zarówno serial Netflixa, jak i anime, bo po prostu lubię takie klimaty.
December 24, 2021
This book provides the background for the friendship between Fearless and Vicious. It is a good standalone story and does not require the reader to have any background of the anime or Netflix series. However, it provides additional information that enriches the stories.
There are a number of elements in this story and it goes back and forth in time, jumping to different periods in their life when they first met as children, when they started out in the underworld and finally when they joined the Syndicate.
The writing itself is okay. Nothing exceptional but not bad either.
There are a number of elements in this story and it goes back and forth in time, jumping to different periods in their life when they first met as children, when they started out in the underworld and finally when they joined the Syndicate.
The writing itself is okay. Nothing exceptional but not bad either.
January 28, 2022
"You're driving like my grandmother," Fearless quipped.
Vicious tightened his grip on the steering wheel and checked his rear view. Then retorted, "You don't have a grandmother."
"I don't know my grandmother. There's a difference. I'm an orphan. Not an alien"
I'm enjoying the dialogue between these two characters so far! Ive find it's exactly the kind of read I hoped for when I could have only wondered how a day in the life of Spike and Vicious would have went.
I'd recommend for any Bebop fan, or even anyone interested in the Tarantino-esque style of writing
Vicious tightened his grip on the steering wheel and checked his rear view. Then retorted, "You don't have a grandmother."
"I don't know my grandmother. There's a difference. I'm an orphan. Not an alien"
I'm enjoying the dialogue between these two characters so far! Ive find it's exactly the kind of read I hoped for when I could have only wondered how a day in the life of Spike and Vicious would have went.
I'd recommend for any Bebop fan, or even anyone interested in the Tarantino-esque style of writing
April 28, 2022
As a tie in to the Netflix series, this book does the job. There's more typo's than I'd like in a book that cost 12 bucks, but the story itself was decent.
For someone just getting into Cowboy Bebop, you could do a lot worse. This sets up and adds to the Netflix series, and will likely lead to seeing the entire franchise, anime and movie.
The characters knowing someone's name a paragraph before it's mentioned, and constant misuse of commas, leave this one at an easy 3 stars, because I did enjoy the story.
For someone just getting into Cowboy Bebop, you could do a lot worse. This sets up and adds to the Netflix series, and will likely lead to seeing the entire franchise, anime and movie.
The characters knowing someone's name a paragraph before it's mentioned, and constant misuse of commas, leave this one at an easy 3 stars, because I did enjoy the story.
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