A curmudgeon writes.
Well, another five books have come and gone, so it’s time for my thoughts on the same. They run the gamut from experimental fiction to weird memoir and scientific history to gothic fantasy, so you can’t accuse me of being particularly genre-monogamous in the last little while, if that’s even a thing.
Anyway, let’s see what I read. Or heard. Or both.
Continue reading “Book reviews: sharks, serendipity, ‘splosions, snapshots and spooks”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 7 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
So after a bit of a break – a couple of these in a row is more than enough candy popcorn for anyone – I’m back into the world of imprisoned, superpowered teens, and the creepy overlords that love [to experiment on] them.
As expected, it’s more of the same. By which I mean INCREDIBLE VIOLENCE and some creepy fan service for boob-focused shut-ins.
Same same then, eh?
Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 7”
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
I studied economics for a couple of years in high school. I did not study it particularly well, nor did I remember very much.
The sum total of my economic knowledge is the term stagflation, and I only remember this because it sounds like antlers with a boner. That, and the fact that Ross Gittins wore Dunlop KT26s when he delivered my year’s economic update before the HSC. Two facts, you’ll agree, that stand me in good stead for understanding the economy as a whole.
This is the background with which I read Freakonomics, a collection of chapters loosely corralled together under the guise of making data answer interesting questions (such as why sumo wrestlers might cheat) instead of boring ones (involving GDP and the like).
Continue reading “Book review: Freakonomics”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 6 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
Well, it’d seem I’m cutting through these collections the way prison-toilet wine cuts through intestinal lining. Time for some thoughts on another hilarious collection of lost moments from a horrific human research facility masquerading as a prison.
Y’know, with DEATH GAMES. Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 6”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 5 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
It’s always a good sign when a collection begins with the potential execution of a main character.
It’s not so good when you then remember there’s about another hundred volumes of the story to go, so chances that they’ll be successfully poleaxed are probably slim. Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 5”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 4 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
Back on this again. Deadman Wonderland remains a decent break from more taxing literature, given that you’ll always be assured of some grimly violent fighting and some embarrassed-teen interchanges in ready supply.
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 3 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
I guess this volume is where the story decided to kick itself up a notch. Yes, we’re still in a prison masquerading as the world’s goriest version of It’s A Knockout!, but there’s some deeply mysterious shit going on. Rebels are introduced! There’s another big fight! Backstories are unveiled!
Oh, and that. Which, I’m sure, will be explained properly later.
Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 3”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 2 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
This review’s going to be pretty short. I mean, I could recap a bunch of what I said when I looked at the first volume, but let’s not do that, eh? It’s pretty safe to say that as we’re only on the second of thirteen total books that there’ll be a bit of confusion on the reader’s part.
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 1 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
I kind of know what happens here.
I mean, I’ve come to read this manga after I’ve seen the anime. So I know more or less how the story goes.
But I’m interested to see what else there is on offer, knowing that adaptation can sometimes squeeze the life out of a property. I guess I was interested in seeing what more is hidden here. Because let me tell you, if you have no idea about this series, it’s a trip, involving inhuman murder, shady government research, weird blood-based powers, a fatal version of It’s a Knockout! and a fairly major character who may or may not be real.
Oh, and it all takes place in a devastated Tokyo, after an earthquake obliterated 70 per cent of the city. In a prison that also doubles as an amusement part, where death row prisoners die if they don’t get a ration of special candy. Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 1”
Oishinbo a la carte, Volume 6 – The Joy of Rice by Tetsuya Kariya and Akira Hanasaki.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
We’re getting to the pointy end now. This is the penultimate volume of Viz’s collections of extracts from Oishinbo, and so it’s time for something subtle. Something both representative of Japan and its culture, and of hearth and home. Something to get excited about.
Something like rice.
Continue reading “Book review: Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice”
Yeah nah. 