Summer homework comes out, and Yotsuba finds plenty of ways to help in Yotsuba&! Volume 5.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer finally have a grown-up demon fighter to follow.
Most 'Chosen One' stories deal with teens or children as their main characters. Both are tumultuous times in a person's life, and while so much is going on, it makes sense that one would come into his powers then, too. But sometimes a situation calls for a special person, with a special connection to his god, or God, and age doesn't matter terribly much.
Such is the situation in Princess of Wands by John Ringo. More a collection of three novellas than a proper novel, the stories center around Barbara Everett, a good Christian woman and soccer mom of 3. Raised a military brat traveling the world, she learned from an early age to defend herself both through extensive martial arts training as well as modern weaponry. Her fierce temper, however, she has come to control through a close, personal relationship with God.
A very close relationship with God.
We get to know Mrs. Everett in 'The Almadu Sanction'. Even though Barb is the consummate housewife and PTO member, even she occasionally needs a break.. So she tells her ESPN-watching husband that she's taking a weekend for herself down in Louisiana. But on the road, instead of heading for one of her usual haunts, she takes an impulsive turn off to a backwater parish, looking for some "authentic" cajun food.
Unfortunately, Thibideau, LA deserves all of the horror-novel-style creepiness that pervades the place. Detective Kelly Lockhart has a lead on some murders down in New Orleans, and his investigation is leading him places that he never could have imagined. He's approached by an FBI agent from Special Circumstances. These agents are only called in when some sort of supernatural or occult activity is suspected. It turns out that there has ben some Construct DNA found on the murdered women's bodies, and with that knowledge, Kelly is sent to find the man last seen with one of the victims.
When Detective Lockhart and Barb meet up in the local bait-shop-cum-restaurant, and both realize that their cars have been disabled, it's up to them to get themselves out of the bayou alive. Will Barb be able to draw on her undiscovered connection to the White God's power to save both herself and Kelly?
In 'The Necromancy Option', Barb is called away from her family, this time for a religious retreat of sorts. The Foundation for Love and Universal Faith is more than a day spa with prayerful overtones. All the attendees here are fighting the good fight against evil, but no two people get there in the exact same way. These retreats are a good way to share information picked up in the field, take time out for good, old fashioned book learning and research, and to pick up new assignments. There are, however, very few good Christian soccer moms in a place like this. And the people who have connected to other gods have generally had bad experienceds with the popular girls like Barb. So beyond learning how to identify demons and the like, along with a host of other topics that Barb certainly never thought shed be dealing with, she also has to learn how to fit in with people from many, many different backgrounds, and with very different ways of connecting with their gods.
After a week at the Foundation, Barb gets sent out on her first field assignment. There's been a string of murders out of Ohio and Virginia, and they've been tied to science fiction conventions. So after a week of sharing a camp with devotees of every religion under the sun, Barb now has to deal with her first taste of fandom.
Life just isn't fair, sometimes.
But when the convention is hit by a blizzard, and both roads and cell phones are out of commission, things turn bad quickly. Back-up is unreachable and bodies start piling up fast, but Barb and her teammates are particularly suited to take on such a problem. Will the team, aided by some very...well-equipped military SF fans, be able to handle things on their own?
And in 'Broken Sabbath', the Circumstances hit much closer to home. Barb's oldest daughter Allison has a new softball coach, and he's setting off Barb's creep radar. At first, Allison's sullenness and late-night, student-only meetings could be shrugged off as the natural state of high school girls and sports. But as she becomes more run down and after an uncomfortable meeting between Barb and Coach Sherman, will Barb have to call on her newfound abilities to save one of her own? Because there is nothing more frightening than a Paladin of the Light protecting her own child.
Fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" who grew up watching a teenage blonde fighting evil with find lots to like here, with a new late 30s blonde doing the same thing. Barb, for all her unintended preachiness and strangely sheltered yet experienced background, is a truly likable person. She hasher metaphorical demons, including a vicious temper, but does her best to control them. While parts of 'The Necromancy Option' feel like a bad fanfic, with Barb being introduced to all the cliques at a local convention, once the action picks up again that feeling goes away. It's also obvious from the descriptions that Ringo gives of the women at the Con that he's more accustomed to writing for his military science fiction fanbase. When writing fantasy, with a much higher female readership, it might behoove him to remember that they don't need to know the chest size of each female.
But Ringo has some of the best characters and humor in the genre today, and fans of his more famous series would do themselves a disservice by passing this one by.
Highs: Barb having to remind Janea several times that the White God would frown on joining in on her escapades.
Lows: If she's travelled so, why has she never encountered any of these countercultures?
Verdict: Not Ringo's best fantasy, but a light read that stays fun to the end.
Further Reading: There Will be Dragons, Spirits in the Wires
Such is the situation in Princess of Wands by John Ringo. More a collection of three novellas than a proper novel, the stories center around Barbara Everett, a good Christian woman and soccer mom of 3. Raised a military brat traveling the world, she learned from an early age to defend herself both through extensive martial arts training as well as modern weaponry. Her fierce temper, however, she has come to control through a close, personal relationship with God.
A very close relationship with God.
We get to know Mrs. Everett in 'The Almadu Sanction'. Even though Barb is the consummate housewife and PTO member, even she occasionally needs a break.. So she tells her ESPN-watching husband that she's taking a weekend for herself down in Louisiana. But on the road, instead of heading for one of her usual haunts, she takes an impulsive turn off to a backwater parish, looking for some "authentic" cajun food.
Unfortunately, Thibideau, LA deserves all of the horror-novel-style creepiness that pervades the place. Detective Kelly Lockhart has a lead on some murders down in New Orleans, and his investigation is leading him places that he never could have imagined. He's approached by an FBI agent from Special Circumstances. These agents are only called in when some sort of supernatural or occult activity is suspected. It turns out that there has ben some Construct DNA found on the murdered women's bodies, and with that knowledge, Kelly is sent to find the man last seen with one of the victims.
When Detective Lockhart and Barb meet up in the local bait-shop-cum-restaurant, and both realize that their cars have been disabled, it's up to them to get themselves out of the bayou alive. Will Barb be able to draw on her undiscovered connection to the White God's power to save both herself and Kelly?
In 'The Necromancy Option', Barb is called away from her family, this time for a religious retreat of sorts. The Foundation for Love and Universal Faith is more than a day spa with prayerful overtones. All the attendees here are fighting the good fight against evil, but no two people get there in the exact same way. These retreats are a good way to share information picked up in the field, take time out for good, old fashioned book learning and research, and to pick up new assignments. There are, however, very few good Christian soccer moms in a place like this. And the people who have connected to other gods have generally had bad experienceds with the popular girls like Barb. So beyond learning how to identify demons and the like, along with a host of other topics that Barb certainly never thought shed be dealing with, she also has to learn how to fit in with people from many, many different backgrounds, and with very different ways of connecting with their gods.
After a week at the Foundation, Barb gets sent out on her first field assignment. There's been a string of murders out of Ohio and Virginia, and they've been tied to science fiction conventions. So after a week of sharing a camp with devotees of every religion under the sun, Barb now has to deal with her first taste of fandom.
Life just isn't fair, sometimes.
But when the convention is hit by a blizzard, and both roads and cell phones are out of commission, things turn bad quickly. Back-up is unreachable and bodies start piling up fast, but Barb and her teammates are particularly suited to take on such a problem. Will the team, aided by some very...well-equipped military SF fans, be able to handle things on their own?
And in 'Broken Sabbath', the Circumstances hit much closer to home. Barb's oldest daughter Allison has a new softball coach, and he's setting off Barb's creep radar. At first, Allison's sullenness and late-night, student-only meetings could be shrugged off as the natural state of high school girls and sports. But as she becomes more run down and after an uncomfortable meeting between Barb and Coach Sherman, will Barb have to call on her newfound abilities to save one of her own? Because there is nothing more frightening than a Paladin of the Light protecting her own child.
Fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" who grew up watching a teenage blonde fighting evil with find lots to like here, with a new late 30s blonde doing the same thing. Barb, for all her unintended preachiness and strangely sheltered yet experienced background, is a truly likable person. She hasher metaphorical demons, including a vicious temper, but does her best to control them. While parts of 'The Necromancy Option' feel like a bad fanfic, with Barb being introduced to all the cliques at a local convention, once the action picks up again that feeling goes away. It's also obvious from the descriptions that Ringo gives of the women at the Con that he's more accustomed to writing for his military science fiction fanbase. When writing fantasy, with a much higher female readership, it might behoove him to remember that they don't need to know the chest size of each female.
But Ringo has some of the best characters and humor in the genre today, and fans of his more famous series would do themselves a disservice by passing this one by.
Highs: Barb having to remind Janea several times that the White God would frown on joining in on her escapades.
Lows: If she's travelled so, why has she never encountered any of these countercultures?
Verdict: Not Ringo's best fantasy, but a light read that stays fun to the end.
Further Reading: There Will be Dragons, Spirits in the Wires
Monday, March 5, 2012
Manga Monday: A young lady's dreams of touching the stars begins to come true
In the 1950s and 1960s, the world watched as the USA and USSR raced to reach the moon. The USSR had some early accomplishments, launching Sputnik 1 in 1957 and Vostok 1 with Yuri Gagarin in 1961. In 1969, Apollo 11 launched and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon.
Since then, space exploration has taken a much more cooperative approach. The ISS is a joint project between five space agencies, and astronauts from 15 different countries have inhabited it in its 14 years.
In Twin Spica Volume 1, the history of space exploration has played out a little differently. Here, in 2010, Japan's JAXA space agency launched its first all-Japanese shuttle into space. But 72 seconds after takeoff, critical systems failed and the shuttle crashed back to Earth. Beyond dealing a near-fatal blow to Japan's nascent space program, debris from the shuttle landed in a small tow, killing or injuring many civilians.
14 years later, Asumi Kamogawa is taking her first steps towards space herself. The astronaut program at Tokyo's space school is finally accepting new applicants, and Asumi has secretly applied. It's only herself and her father at home, and she doesn't want to worry him with tuition or boarding fees, since he works double shifts as a construction worker to make ends meet as it is. But in the tradition of good fathers everywhere, he might have an idea or tow as to how to help his little girl achieve her dreams.
Upon arrival at the space school, entrance testing continues. Her first day at school, she's locked into a room with two other girls and assigned a seemingly impossible task to accomplish over the next three days. While one roommate, Kei Oumi, is outgoing and nice enough, the other, Marika Ukita, is a quiet, sullen girl who doesn't seem to speak but to criticize. But learning to work together in a closed environment is just another lesson to be learned in the course of becoming an astronaut, and Asumi will do her best at this, too.
Asumi has another person in her corner on her way to the stars. At age 6, her mother died after being in a coma since The Lion's failed launch. While dealing with the death of the mother she never really knew, she meets a spirit who calls himself Mr. Lion. With astronaut pants and the head of the Lion mission's mascot, he keeps Asumi company through her rather lonely childhood.
Like many Vertical titles, Twin Spica is a slower paced, contemplative story. Current-day chapters are followed by chapters that give us a look into our characters' backstories. Covering topics ranging from lost loves to a parent's devotion to his child, to following one's dream no matter where it takes one, Twin Spica is a touching story that nearly anyone can relate to.
Highs: Fathers often aren't portrayed well in the media, but Asumi's dad shows what it means to work every day for your children.
Lows: Hopefully we'll find out more of how Asumi grew up and got to this point.
Verdict: Perhaps not to the typical shonen manga reader's taste, Twin Spica shows a lot of heart and more real emotion than many manga.
Further Reading: The Color of Water, Planetes
Since then, space exploration has taken a much more cooperative approach. The ISS is a joint project between five space agencies, and astronauts from 15 different countries have inhabited it in its 14 years.
In Twin Spica Volume 1, the history of space exploration has played out a little differently. Here, in 2010, Japan's JAXA space agency launched its first all-Japanese shuttle into space. But 72 seconds after takeoff, critical systems failed and the shuttle crashed back to Earth. Beyond dealing a near-fatal blow to Japan's nascent space program, debris from the shuttle landed in a small tow, killing or injuring many civilians.
14 years later, Asumi Kamogawa is taking her first steps towards space herself. The astronaut program at Tokyo's space school is finally accepting new applicants, and Asumi has secretly applied. It's only herself and her father at home, and she doesn't want to worry him with tuition or boarding fees, since he works double shifts as a construction worker to make ends meet as it is. But in the tradition of good fathers everywhere, he might have an idea or tow as to how to help his little girl achieve her dreams.
Upon arrival at the space school, entrance testing continues. Her first day at school, she's locked into a room with two other girls and assigned a seemingly impossible task to accomplish over the next three days. While one roommate, Kei Oumi, is outgoing and nice enough, the other, Marika Ukita, is a quiet, sullen girl who doesn't seem to speak but to criticize. But learning to work together in a closed environment is just another lesson to be learned in the course of becoming an astronaut, and Asumi will do her best at this, too.
Asumi has another person in her corner on her way to the stars. At age 6, her mother died after being in a coma since The Lion's failed launch. While dealing with the death of the mother she never really knew, she meets a spirit who calls himself Mr. Lion. With astronaut pants and the head of the Lion mission's mascot, he keeps Asumi company through her rather lonely childhood.
Like many Vertical titles, Twin Spica is a slower paced, contemplative story. Current-day chapters are followed by chapters that give us a look into our characters' backstories. Covering topics ranging from lost loves to a parent's devotion to his child, to following one's dream no matter where it takes one, Twin Spica is a touching story that nearly anyone can relate to.
Highs: Fathers often aren't portrayed well in the media, but Asumi's dad shows what it means to work every day for your children.
Lows: Hopefully we'll find out more of how Asumi grew up and got to this point.
Verdict: Perhaps not to the typical shonen manga reader's taste, Twin Spica shows a lot of heart and more real emotion than many manga.
Further Reading: The Color of Water, Planetes
Monday, February 20, 2012
Manga Monday: We finally meet the man who trained Genma and Soun...
Monday, February 13, 2012
Manga Monday: Instead of fighting spirits, this boy gives them peace
It's bad enough to be orphaned at a young age. It's worse to be shuttled from distant relative to distant relative, always a burden that no one wants to deal with. But to see yokai wherever you turn and to be thought of as crazy because of it? That's just plain unfair.
That's the life that Natsume Takashi has been given in Natsume's Book of Friends Volume 1. Poor Natsume's a pretty good kid, considering everything that he's going through. True, he's a little tired and spaced-out at school, but you would be too if your second job was to deal with the apparent infestation of yokai that Japan is plagued with.
In the first chapter, a lot of Natsume's life starts to make more sense. His grandmother Reiko, who he bears a striking resemblance to, and who was also a loner, saw yokai as well. Because she was always alone, she started interacting with the yokai more. Eventually, she started tricking them into writing their names in her book, and as long as she had their names, she had power over them.
The years went by, Reiko passed away as humans tend to do, and her book was packed away and forgotten. But the yokai she deceived longed for their lost names. And when a new person comes to town who looks so much like Reiko, the yokai make their presence known like never before.
One yokai in particular, named Madara but called by Natsume 'Nyanko-sensei,' has taken a particular interest in Natsume. Originally intending to steal the book - and thepower to control the other yokai - from Natsume, he eventually falls into a sort of teacher-protector-pet role. He helps Natsume learn more about his abilities, and how to release the yokai from the binding.
Because the series started as one-shots, each story is much more self-contained than other manga. Along with releasing spirits that have been bound by his grandmother, we see other spirits in the area, many of which are simply going about their business. Some of the stories are truly touching, especially when Natsume takes care of the spirits that just gather in a town. The episodic nature, and higher page counts than typical manga chapters, makes them very nice to read one story at a time.
The artwork is fitting of a shojo book, but still better than most. While many of the yokai are wispy and undefined, it simply adds to their ethereal quality. Character designs are well done, and characters are easy to distinguish from one another, which is sometimes all you can hope for. And it's nice to see a kid like Natsume every once in awhile, who tries his best to fix his little part of the world, when he's done nothing to deserve the job. Natsume's Book of Friends is quickly becoming a title that I'll be anticipating on its drop dates.
Highs: The author Yuki Midorikawa gives us plenty of sidebars and endnotes that make the title even more endearing
Lows: Because this title was not a regular title in its manga, the reintroduction to Natsume each chapter gets frustrating.
Verdict: A shojo series with blessedly little romance makes this a great read.
Further Reading: A Story of Saiunkoku, Dororo
That's the life that Natsume Takashi has been given in Natsume's Book of Friends Volume 1. Poor Natsume's a pretty good kid, considering everything that he's going through. True, he's a little tired and spaced-out at school, but you would be too if your second job was to deal with the apparent infestation of yokai that Japan is plagued with.
In the first chapter, a lot of Natsume's life starts to make more sense. His grandmother Reiko, who he bears a striking resemblance to, and who was also a loner, saw yokai as well. Because she was always alone, she started interacting with the yokai more. Eventually, she started tricking them into writing their names in her book, and as long as she had their names, she had power over them.
The years went by, Reiko passed away as humans tend to do, and her book was packed away and forgotten. But the yokai she deceived longed for their lost names. And when a new person comes to town who looks so much like Reiko, the yokai make their presence known like never before.
One yokai in particular, named Madara but called by Natsume 'Nyanko-sensei,' has taken a particular interest in Natsume. Originally intending to steal the book - and thepower to control the other yokai - from Natsume, he eventually falls into a sort of teacher-protector-pet role. He helps Natsume learn more about his abilities, and how to release the yokai from the binding.
Because the series started as one-shots, each story is much more self-contained than other manga. Along with releasing spirits that have been bound by his grandmother, we see other spirits in the area, many of which are simply going about their business. Some of the stories are truly touching, especially when Natsume takes care of the spirits that just gather in a town. The episodic nature, and higher page counts than typical manga chapters, makes them very nice to read one story at a time.
The artwork is fitting of a shojo book, but still better than most. While many of the yokai are wispy and undefined, it simply adds to their ethereal quality. Character designs are well done, and characters are easy to distinguish from one another, which is sometimes all you can hope for. And it's nice to see a kid like Natsume every once in awhile, who tries his best to fix his little part of the world, when he's done nothing to deserve the job. Natsume's Book of Friends is quickly becoming a title that I'll be anticipating on its drop dates.
Highs: The author Yuki Midorikawa gives us plenty of sidebars and endnotes that make the title even more endearing
Lows: Because this title was not a regular title in its manga, the reintroduction to Natsume each chapter gets frustrating.
Verdict: A shojo series with blessedly little romance makes this a great read.
Further Reading: A Story of Saiunkoku, Dororo
Thursday, February 9, 2012
When healers can't heal, the world rebels
What if healers, with their ability to heal themselves four times faster than normal humans, could take on the injuries and diseases of others, healing in a matter of minutes or hours what would otherwise kill them? They'd be loved by the population. They'd have a University of their own to train youngsters with the talent how to use it. And along with their talent, they'd learn to heal with traditional healing methods such as herbs and cleanliness.
But what if their magic fails? What if a plague hits that's so devastating that it kills the healer every time? When the healers refuse to take on plague victims, and people watch their loved ones die terrible deaths while the healers stand idly by, there's an uprising. As the population of the kingdoms is decimated, a bounty is placed on the heads of those healers who have survived, and they go into hiding.
This is the world Maria V Snyder presents us with in A Touch of Power. Avry has been running for three years. Truly wanting to help people who are suffering, she usually blows her cover healing a sickly child or some other innocent, and then has to go on the run again. We join her as she heals a child from a wasting disease, and even with her ability to recover, she is left incapacitated long enough to be caught by the village officials, and is set for execution the next morning.
That night, though, a band of mercenaries breaks into the jail and busts her out, as long as she agrees to heal one more person for them.
Unfortunately, that one person is a prince of the realm, who after catching the plague was put into a magical stasis while his followers searched for a healer. And, like most rulers, he has a few detractors. Including Avry. Even if healing him from the plague wouldn't be a death sentence to her, she still prefers him dead. But a jailbreak is a jailbreak, and she ends up going with the mercenaries, since no one can actually force her to use her healing powers, and she'd be facing death in the morning anyways.
As she travels with the men, still avoiding those who would turn Avry in for the bounty, and straddling the domains of two crazy warlords filling the power vacuum left when Prince Ryne was put out of commission, she gets to know more more about the men that she's traveling with. As she becomes close to them, and as she gets to know their leader Kerrick better, she starts to ponder her staunch refusal to heal Prince Ryne. And as she learns more and more about the other candidates to take of The 15 Realms, there's really no other option available t her. But now that she's made her decision, will Kerrick and the boys be able to keep her alive long enough to fulfill their plans?
At its roots, it's a fairly standard travel adventure fantasy, and with the addition of some royal intrigue and a bit of a love story to round things out, this is escapist fantasy perfect as a palate cleanser between more serious books.
Highs: The reunion between Avry and her sister doesn't go exactly as planned...
Lows: It feels like the author wrote herself into a corner a few times and some of the weakest plot moments are her writing herself out again
Verdict: Some interesting ideas to ponder are brought up in this book, and as long as you are able to let the weak points go, it's a fun book to relax with.
Further Reading: Soulless, Elantris
But what if their magic fails? What if a plague hits that's so devastating that it kills the healer every time? When the healers refuse to take on plague victims, and people watch their loved ones die terrible deaths while the healers stand idly by, there's an uprising. As the population of the kingdoms is decimated, a bounty is placed on the heads of those healers who have survived, and they go into hiding.
This is the world Maria V Snyder presents us with in A Touch of Power. Avry has been running for three years. Truly wanting to help people who are suffering, she usually blows her cover healing a sickly child or some other innocent, and then has to go on the run again. We join her as she heals a child from a wasting disease, and even with her ability to recover, she is left incapacitated long enough to be caught by the village officials, and is set for execution the next morning.
That night, though, a band of mercenaries breaks into the jail and busts her out, as long as she agrees to heal one more person for them.
Unfortunately, that one person is a prince of the realm, who after catching the plague was put into a magical stasis while his followers searched for a healer. And, like most rulers, he has a few detractors. Including Avry. Even if healing him from the plague wouldn't be a death sentence to her, she still prefers him dead. But a jailbreak is a jailbreak, and she ends up going with the mercenaries, since no one can actually force her to use her healing powers, and she'd be facing death in the morning anyways.
As she travels with the men, still avoiding those who would turn Avry in for the bounty, and straddling the domains of two crazy warlords filling the power vacuum left when Prince Ryne was put out of commission, she gets to know more more about the men that she's traveling with. As she becomes close to them, and as she gets to know their leader Kerrick better, she starts to ponder her staunch refusal to heal Prince Ryne. And as she learns more and more about the other candidates to take of The 15 Realms, there's really no other option available t her. But now that she's made her decision, will Kerrick and the boys be able to keep her alive long enough to fulfill their plans?
At its roots, it's a fairly standard travel adventure fantasy, and with the addition of some royal intrigue and a bit of a love story to round things out, this is escapist fantasy perfect as a palate cleanser between more serious books.
Highs: The reunion between Avry and her sister doesn't go exactly as planned...
Lows: It feels like the author wrote herself into a corner a few times and some of the weakest plot moments are her writing herself out again
Verdict: Some interesting ideas to ponder are brought up in this book, and as long as you are able to let the weak points go, it's a fun book to relax with.
Further Reading: Soulless, Elantris
Monday, February 6, 2012
Manga Monday: Does Doctor Black Jack perhaps have a soft spot for children?
The more human side of Black Jack comes out, whether dealing with lonely widows or treating young children in Black Jack Volume 3.
Note: Black Jack Volume 3 is, of course, the sequel to Black
Jack Volume 2. The Vertical edition is
published not in chronological order, but in the preferred order of Osamu
Tezuka, so spoilers are not generally a problem. The review for Black Jack Volume 1 is here, and the review for Black Jack Volume 2 is here. Otherwise, read on!
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