Count_Zero

I'm a bibliophile - something that should be obvious to anyone who is using this site. Also, considering that you, too, use Goodreads, then the odds are high that you are also a bibliophile. Well, this series is basically a fan-service series for bibliophiles. Yes, they're talking about manga instead of more conventional books, but the points still stand - this is a manga about books and the people who love them, for people who love books, by someone who loves books.

The writer, Seimu Yoshizaki, understands books, and wants to share his love of books with the reader - and does a fantastic job of doing it over the course of the manga, through good art and great writing. I simply cannot recommend this manga enough.

This is primarily a collection of vignettes, but somewhat interesting ones. In particular, I liked the storylines involving Black Mask slowly building control of Gotham (though I suspect that this isn't the same Black Mask who tortured Stephanie Brown), along with Batman taking down Hush & Firefly. Also, the character of Mr. Fine is an interesting character, and definitely one who I'm considering snitching for a supers campaign.

Interesting start to the series, though the way the leads talk about female characters is kind of crappy.

I'd definitely say the second installment of the series is better than the first, and definitely does a better job of fleshing out the characters. However, I'd rather that establishing the characters of the leads be done in the first book, so they can undergo growth and development in later books - like this one.

Oh, and the little Carmilla sequence fit in nicely with October.

Interesting book. The idea of having the detective be a sports agent was something I hadn't encountered before. However, the whole thing of Bolitar's gay ninja business partner seemed a bit silly. The ending was okay, and reminded me a little bit of the solution to “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” in both good and bad ways.

Very good book - I should hopefully have a review up on Bureau42 next Monday.

I'll have a review up on Bureau42 next week Monday (knock on wood)

Really good book, and definitely one of the cases where, I suspect if I read it again or watched it again, I could spot the clues in hindsight (as opposed to Murder on the Orient Express, where many of them aren't there.

This is a spectacular science fiction novel. Long story short, rather then re-tread my own writing on the topic, I'm just going to send you to my video review I recorded.

http://blip.tv/countzero/book-review-the-dervish-house-and-my-definition-of-cyberpunk-5405844

Enjoy.

A fun fantasy novel that does a good job of bridging the gap between high fantasy and heroic fantasy. I particularly liked the little nods to Wagner's Ring cycle with the series gemstone. My main complaint is that the gemstone doesn't come up soon enough in the book's plot.

Lots of really good stuff in here. I particularly liked the short stories “Plotter and Shooters” and “Sideways from Now” by [a:Kage Baker 53193 Kage Baker http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224057034p2/53193.jpg] and [a:John Meaney 427315 John Meaney http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg], respectively. It's good to know that the science fiction short story is still alive and kicking.

Very good book, I like the new universe from this volume, and I'll have a review up on Bureau42 on the 25th.

Full review will be up on Bureau42 on the 18th. Suffice it to say that this is my favorite volume of the series thus far.

Nice conclusion to the “Watanuki's Lost Eye” subplot in this episode, and I like the call back to Watanuki's earlier adventures with the Youkai. I'll have a full review up on Bureau42 in a couple weeks.

I really enjoyed the book. Some of the humor was pretty good (though aimed directly at anime fans), but even if you're not an otaku, most of the humor is still something you can get.

There's a full review going up on Bureau42 on the 28th, but suffice it to say, this is the most underwhelming manga I've ever read in my life. There is nothing in this book that hooked me into reading the next volume. I didn't laugh at the jokes. I wasn't rooting for any possible romantic pairings. I wasn't concerned for the physical or emotional well being of any of the characters.

This book is just dull. That's all I can say for it.

Fun little Yokai manga.

While the story got a little Scooby-Doo-ish at the end, it's still a very enjoyable book, and I look forward to reading (or listening to) the rest of the series.

A review of this should be up on Bureau42 by the 14th.

Decent volume, and I like some of the new characters they introduced. However, I really feel like CLAMP rushed the Fuma & Kotari part of Kamui's plot here. It feels like the film handled Fuma and Kotari after Kamui's decision much more gradually then the manga is, which is saying something considering how rushed the movie was.

Some of the art decisions made in the book turned out rather poorly, particularly related to transparencies in speech baloons

I'm disappointed by some of the points in Chinese history the book brushes over.

A good basic primer on anime and manga for those who are new fans, as well as parents who are trying to find out more about that stuff their kids are watching.

A fascinating book about the Mafia. Most books on organized crime either focus on the modern or semi-modern period, or on Prohibition and events related to that. This book is the first I've read that goes further back then that, all the way to the turn of the century. It's very well researched and well written, and does a good job of avoiding both mafia-worship and passionate hatred of the organization.

I've generally always liked the Darwin Awards books, and this one is no exception.