Gord’s Comments (group member since Apr 06, 2017)

Gord’s comments from the Vampires, Weres and Fae! group.

I'm now a little concerned heading into this one.

Welcome to the group Bea and Samantha

I'm meaning to start this next week.

Time for a quick update. I don't have as much to talk about with it being a shorter week and just life being life.

Cardcaptor Sakura, Book 4 -5 Stars
Yet another Clamp series that I find myself at the end of and man this one makes me tear up. I cried the first time I read the ending and I cried just as much this time. Why? No idea. There is just something about this ending that hits me right in the emotional core and reduces me to shambles. There is something just so sweet about everything and it just makes me bawl. Not a whole lot to say outside of that. Now to move on to the sequel which I have never read before.

Don't Call It Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 1-2 -5 Stars
This is one of those random ones that popped up on my radar at some point but my library didn't have it at that point. Since then they got it and I got myself a copy. This book was an experience that just pulled me in hard. There are a couple aspects of this book that I feel need to be talked about. First, there is the art. There is a couple pages where the art is like the cover and it's good in an uncanny valley kind of way. It looks good but there is something that is just weird about it. Then there is the art that is used for the average panel and it's not that great. I've read all sorts of manga/doujinshi (fan made manga) so it's not the worst I've seen but it's still not that great. Where the story shines though is in the writing and I'm not sure how to even describe this oddity. The series is called Don't Call It Mystery and I feel that is apt. The MC helps solves puzzles but he is not involved with the investigation itself. He is not out in the field looking for clues, investigating crime scenes, none of that. What he is good at is talking and this boy talks a lot. He is always asking questions, sharing his opinions, etc. I think the best way to describe the reading experience of this book is to think of the classic reveal moment from something like a Poirot novel. Where Poirot gathers everyone together in the study and he goes over the events of the mystery. He asks questions, makes his observations, etc with all of it leading up to his big reveal of who the bad guy is. That moment is basically what this book is and it just works for me. This book has three cases/puzzles in it and the second one just hooked me in hard. One of those books where nothing matters but getting to end and the big reveal. I really can't wait for the second book.

Alley: Junji Ito Story Collection -4 Stars
I think this will be my last Ito collection for a while. I love Ito and I still think that he is the master of horror in a manga format but I'm starting to feel kind of burnt out. Ito has been getting much more popular in the west which means more of his works have been getting translated. I've been reading several of these this year as the library has been bringing them in. After a while they just started to blur together. The weird art work, the spooky setting, the big spooky reveal, etc. That is what this collection is. It's more Ito being Ito. That being said there are some pretty good ones in this collection.

Now, what is up next.

The Spellshop
I'm about 30% of the way into this book and I'm having a great time so far. I'm really glad that more and more cozy fantasy is being published in the main stream as it's a nice genre to read.

Outside of that I have some more manga and a couple novels to work through.

I have a lot of things that need to get done done but my energy level is still in bed trying to ignore the day.

Just the usual, wildfires burning everywhere. I was looking at the map and holy crap there are a lot of fires burning in the States just south of the border.

Alright, I've requested the first Shannara book and it should be here in about 3 months.

So much smoke in the air. I'm not sure if I'm coughing because of the con crud I caught or because of all this smoke.

I've got an idea brewing and I wouldn't mind some feedback. Now that I am done with my reread of LotR reread I'm once again getting that itch to tackle one of those big fantasy series from when I was a kid and that is the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. I've never reread the series and I think the biggest hang up for me is how hard the books are panned by other readers. That and these audiobooks are of the very lengthy variety. You guys think I should give it a try?

I've caved to a little bit of internal peer pressure, figure that out if you dare, and I started watching Doctor Who. Or at least the revived one that started in 2005 and are the special effects wonky. There is this photo that is supposed to show The Doctor at the assassination of JFK and it's so clearly fake. Also, early 2000's tech. Big blocky monitors, early internet, etc.

After ten days off I return to work this morning and bleh. I'm dealing with some con crud and just being tired still. Plus there is that shift from a very fluid schedule to a work schedule. I also know that things are going to be very busy when I get back. I had a ton of work lined up before I left and I'm sure there will be more when I get in.

I'm a little off my schedule and I would have posted much earlier today but I really needed to sleep. I've had a busy week since my last update and not all of it was reading.

The Return of the King -5 Stars
I feel like I have a lot to say about this book and it's going to be more then just "this book is awesome". It is awesome but I feel like I just have a lot more to unpack with this one. This series is divided up into six parts, or books, with each novel having two parts each. This final novel had some really different styles to it which was odd. The fifth part changed from this epic adventure to defeat this great evil to a full blown military fantasy. This fifth book was a whole lot of "this army moved there", "that army moved over there", "10k men moved in behind", etc. To be brutally honest, this is not really my style of fantasy but I could get through this section. Part of that is because it still had these personal moments scattered through out. That and it's ties to the larger story. In part six we get back to Frodo and Sam with the story coming to its inevitable end. What really surprised me the most with this section is just how soon this came to an end. This book had a few extras in the end but still this inevitable outcome came at about the 55% mark. Looking at my position in the book I was settling in for some story telling and then it was over but not really. Yes, the ring is destroyed, Middle Earth is saved, and there is much joyous celebration... kind of. What follows is basically the series running in reverse. With our MC's basically reuniting and then revisiting the major locations and characters we had encountered over the book. As the four hobbits are traveling back to the Shire characters leave them at various points until it's just the four of them returning to the Shire. With the adventure coming to an end at the door of Bag End where it all started and then essentially an epilogue that has the final end for Frodo and Bilbo.

This final section was really what got me thinking and reflecting on what I was reading. Like the other two books I was a little fuzzy on the details but I could remember the major plot points. That was until I got to the section after the ring was destroyed. This might as well have been a brand new book for me at this point and I have some thoughts/feeling about all this. First, this type of ending is just not something I think I've ever encountered before. Most books would have ended with the ring being destroyed and a short epilogue. I'm not sure if any series but LotR could have pulled off an ending like this either. I'm not saying it's impossible but it is a difficult thing to pull off and still have the reader engaged. Second, I love the message that I got from this. That the big adventure doesn't end once the big evil is done, that life itself is an adventure, and that everyday can be an adventure. You never know what might be around the next corner. I love that the adventure ended at the same place it all began. It shows how the characters have changed over their adventure for better or worse.

This book really gave me a lot to think about and I loved my overall experience with both this novel and the series in its entirety.

The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 1 -4 Stars
Ever since I watched the anime I knew I wanted to read the series it was based on. At that point in time all I could get my hands on was the manga without having to dish out some cold hard cash. Heading into the con I was looking for a light novel for some light reading while standing in line and discovered that Hoopla has the series available. To say that I was excited would be a wee bit of an understatement. Now for the book itself. It was good and what I was expecting, in a way. Normally when I read the light novel for a series it's a hands down better experience. There are a lot of details that get skipped, plot points that get glossed over, etc. This one has me feeling conflicted. The bedrock for the character and series is all there and solid but there were a lot of little embellishments when it comes to the anime. For instance cat mode Maomao for when she gets excited is an anime only thing. It's a minor thing, and I get why it's done but while reading about Maomao it just feels like there is this dimension missing to her. Also, this first book was the entire first season of the anime. There are 14 more volumes currently which means so much more content.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -4 Stars
I don't have a lot to say about this one, it was just a fun read and something easy to have on when I was bombing around a con.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 6 -4 Stars
Also not a lot to say about this one either. More crazy fight scenes as we get ever closer to Dio.

Now what is next.

The Spellshop
I saw the description of this as a "fantasy cozy mystery" and figured I had to give this a try.

For the manga side of things I have:

It's officially over for another year and the wait for next year begins. Kind of bummed as usual but looking forward to decompressing tomorrow. The other downside to the end of the con is that work is now only a couple days away. Don't get me wrong I like my work but I also know that I've got a mountain of stuff waiting for me

Amazing. Some had no idea about sumo, some knew sumo from anime/manga, and some followed the professional stuff. It was fun to just be around like minded weirdos and chat about things

I am. It has been an absolute blast this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm tired, I'm peopled out, I'm ready for some quiet, but I'm having a great time. Plus in just a couple more hours I have that sumo panel.

There are just so many people here today. It doesn't matter where you go it's just a giant noisy crowd. I went downstairs to the fan panel area and encountered what I would call a cube of flesh. There is a big common area in one corner and it was just wall to wall people, all in line to get into panels.

My brain is just wired weird. I just saw someone walking around with a cosplay scythe made from plastic plumbing fittings that was spray painted black. Cool and innovative idea. The first thing that pops into my head though was "Did she properly seal those connections so that they don't leak?". Just why? what the heck is wrong with me.

I don't know why but public transit makes me car sick. I can get a ride in a normal vehicle and have no issues. I spend 30-40 minutes on the bus and I'm just feeling queasy as hell. Maybe it's the constant rocking side to side? Oh and walking in a cloud of pot smoke does not help a queasy stomach at all

And some 12ish hours at the con with just a never ending wave of people and noise I kind of just want to hibernate today. This is my favorite time of year but this is easily the highest concentration of people as well. That and over the day I walked about 12 km or 7.5 miles. That is a lot of walking. Today is the busiest day at the con but I don't have a lot planned... yet. Tomorrow is my busy day.

Weird first step that I just took. I'm what you could call a stealth nerd, I guess. I never wore merch, I never had anything outwardly indicating anything nerdy like pins or badges, etc. I found a couple Maomao keychains today and now have them on my bag just because Maomao is the best