Count_Zero

This was a nicely written novel. The completing colliding schemes are plotted very well.

Some of the information in this book is dated (at the time this book was published, Windows XP was still current), but a lot of this information is still incredibly useful, and I'd definitely consider this worth checking out.

I'd forgotten that Keiichi and Belldandy do kiss this early in the manga. While the pace of the two's relationship is very, very slow, I do like the fact that in the manga, any introduction of love triangle elements are going to be short lived, as the characters like each other enough that any hypotenuse which tries to interfere is going to find themselves eventually getting ignored.

I'll have a full review later on Bureau 42.

Benson does not do a good job of weeding out all the dialog from the game that was actually meant for the player as opposed meant for Solid Snake.

This is a story that probably couldn't have been done on television, if only for reasons of budget and content. The story is interesting and well written.

If you're coming into this book looking for an in-depth explanation of the artistic decisions in GAINAX's work, you'll be disappointed. This book isn't about that. What it is about is what inspired the company's formation, and basically an “inside baseball” look at how an anime studio and a science-fiction convention works, or doesn't, as the case may be. If that catches your interest, and you can find a copy, I recommend giving this book a read.

There's a bit less comedy in this volume then there is in the anime - and I'd definitely consider that a detriment to the work, rather then a bonus. I still enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say that this was superior to the show.

Also, the volume takes a weird detour away from the main story to two other characters which didn't appear at any point in the show. Is this just a one-and-done chapter to pad the volume, or something else?

The Marcus Didus Falco series really should be an HBO TV series. It's a highly engrossing mystery series, with incredibly interesting characters, and Lindsey Davis makes the Roman Empire really come alive. This book, the second in the series, is really no exception. Davis makes Pompeii and Herculanium (where the majority of the action takes place) feel like living, breathing cities.If I had one complaint about the book, it has to do with Spoilerthe discovery that Pertinax is still alive. There was no evidence in advance to show he was still alive before then. To be fair, it's a surprise to Falco as well, but it could have been handled a little better, I think.Falco, as a character, is probably one of the better realized examples of a detective who is too pig-headed for their own good. While some of the classic hard-boiled PIs of the 30s have this trait, we rarely see enough of their lives and friends outside of the job to see how this changes that side of things. Falco has family and friends with families, so we get a better look at how his stubbornness effects his life outside of the job.As a fan of historical mysteries (like the Cadfael novels by [a:Ellis Peters 4046 Ellis Peters http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1242605103p2/4046.jpg], I really enjoyed this book, and I'm probably going to read the rest of the books in the series, at least until it gets bad.

A nice start to an interesting series. I'll put a full review on Bureau42

So, we haven't had the Quantum Reis (Ree?) showing up during some of the characters death scenes. So, I wonder, when we have Third Impact, will the characters who have died before Third Impact formally begins (Misato, Gendo, Kaji) contributing to Shinji's self analysis, or will we be limiting ourselves to characters who are still alive, like Kensuke & Asuka.

Man, Shinji & Asuka can't catch a break. This time Asuka gets saved from death (a death that got played in the movie a lot like a rape) at the hands of the Mass Production Evas by Shinji, and Shinji gets his one triumphant moment where he manages to save someone, only for the trigger to get pulled on Third Impact anyway.

Also, poor Maya. She finds what is potentially a great job, with a boss she greatly admires in Ritsuko, to the point of falling for her, only to discover that Ritsuko is morally compromised, the giant robots she's helping to maintain are horrific monsters (leading to at least two occasions where she tosses her cookies), and Lilith sends her almost-but-not-quite-incorporeal-enough hand through Maya, which I have no doubt would have been a horrific sensation.

I've got to say, though, Ritsuko getting the last laugh by shooting Gendo through the throat was quite satisfying. If the characters who have died aren't going to get to join the Great Link in Third Impact, then I'd consider Gendo's death to be justice. Though again, if the characters who died don't get to join the Great Link, then I'd say that Misato & Kaji deserved far better - even if they don't get to come back out afterwards, then I'd say that they at least earned eternity together - but that's my inner romantic talking.

This is probably my favorite of this year's Hugo Award nominees, and definitely my pick for this year.

This is a very good re-telling of Mobile Suit Gundam, with this volume starting with the fall of Side 7, and the re-entry to Earth, which is a pretty good stopping place for the volume. Some of the plot alterations are interesting, like Garma's base being in LA instead of NYC, and Char launching a commando raid on Luna II as well. I gotta say though, considering how successful the Luna II attack was, I'm surprised the war isn't fought with more of those, and less open battles with Mecha.

This volume is also considerably more bloody then the show is. Now, to be fair, the TV show is just that, a TV show, and there are limits to what they can get away with (even Fist of the North Star had to show all their head explosions in silhouette). Still, it's enough where it definitely shifts the tone of the work a little bit.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading volume 2.

Unfortunately, I've come to the conclusion that Asian horror - at least the kind Patrick Galloway likes to recommend, is not my cup of tea. The majority of the stuff he's recommending in this book focuses less on the atmospheric and terrifying, and more on the gross-out and disgusting - basically stuff that's closer to saw then The Ring, and with more rape. This was somewhat disappointing, as his book about Samurai films was pretty darn good.

This volume of the manga adapts the Operation Yashima plotline, which I'd also describe as the “First Rei Arc.” It gives the reader a baseline for who Rei is currently, so her character can develop and change over future volumes.

The story in this volume is missing some of the light humor that the anime version of this arc has (with Rei being the ultimate straight woman - particularly when Rei comes to give Shinji the briefing on Operation Yashima while he's in the hospital).

Sadamoto's art is excellent, and the problems I had tracking some of the action scenes in manga form in volume 1 are completely absent here.

This volume adapts what I'd describe as the “First Asuka Arc”, with Asuka's arrival at Tokyo 3, and the “dance fight”.

Asuka's characterization is slightly different from the anime, as she acts like much more like a bully problem child, putting on a goody-two-shoes air in front of the adults, but a much more abusive face when they're not looking. It makes for a different take on the character. Whether it's one for the better I'll have to see.

Also, all the problems with how Sadamoto draws the fights are completely gone in this volume. The dance fight is one that, in the wrong hands, could have failed horribly, but here it just works. That said, it also is lessened a little bit by the fact that we don't have the music, which would really help. That said, I mentally went with “Dance of the Hours” by Amilcare Ponchielli.

A very good rundown of the various stripes of Japanese film, though there are a few occasions where it feels like Macias is recommending certain films ironically.

I'd definitely consider this a very good book to have in your collection if you're interested in samurai film, whether casually or seriously.

Honestly, while there is some merit to reading these to find out how the episodes were changed from script to screen, I'd say watching the episodes is a better way to experience these stories.

I haven't read OEL manga in a while, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Amazing Agent Luna. I enjoyed the work a lot, though I thought the high school drama elements were a bit much. The cast is almost too tight to quite work. We don't particularly see any faculty outside of the science and PE teachers and the principal. Similarly, the school seems to consist of only two cliques - the outsiders, which Luna latches on to, and the bunch of “Mean Girls” which make up the popular clique. There's no social groups around athletics or drama (or any other extra-curricular activities) to speak of.

Now, I understand that most works set in high school keep the cast tight for an economy of characters. Still, even shows like Daria and series like the Harry Potter books (and movies) have a variety of classes that we see, so we get an idea of what school and the instructors are like, before expanding on these characters and their traits as the work goes on.

SpoilerConsequently, when the science teacher position basically turns into this series “Defense Against The Dark Arts” position, the high turnover becomes even more glaring when there are only so many instructors that we know.

Very well written fantasy novel, which uses its Middle East-styled setting incredibly well. The characters in particular are incredibly interesting and well fleshed out.

A very well written re-introduction to The Doctor, particularly his Eighth incarnation.

I definitely enjoyed the novelization of the film more than the film itself. I still consider McGann my favorite Doctor though, and I really hope that he shows up in a fashion other than stock footage for the 50th Anniversary.

This is probably the most informative and most helpful cookbook I've found on how to make Chinese food for someone who had never made Chinese food before.

With 2010, Arthur C. Clarke's ability to write interesting, believable, and likable characters has improved dramatically, particularly compared to the cardboard cutouts from Rendezvous with Rama, and the similarly bland characters (with the exception of HAL) from 2001. The book also does a great job of answering the remaining questions from the novelization of 2001.

As far as the book to the movie goes, it's something of a 50/50 split. The book is better at providing the answers then the movie is, and there are some stupid decisions that the characters make in the film which aren't made in the book (like sending Max in a manned pod out to the Monolith, instead of using an unmanned pod operated by remote). Also, the book manages to be semi-prescient by having giving China a space program that would have been somewhat unimaginable when the first film came out. However, the movie manages to be more reasonable by increasing the danger to the Leonov when SpoilerJupiter becomes a star.

All in all, 2010 is one of my favorite Arthur C. Clarke novels, and is definitely a worthy companion to 2001.