Book Reviews

20TH CENTURY BOYS, vols. 1 & 2 by Naoki Urasawa
Viz Media, 2009, 210 pages, 978-1-59116-922-2, Paperback, $12.99
Viz Media, 2009, 206 pages, 978-1-59116-926-0, Paperback, $12.99

Genre: Manga/Science Fiction/Mystery

Synopsis:

Kenji lives an ordinary life running a King Mart with his mother and looking after his sister's infant daughter. Excitement isn't exactly a part of his day to day life, and he certainly doesn't have the time to go looking for it. But when a domino effect of unexplained events begins -- including the disappearance of a university professor, the death of an old school friend, and the sudden outbreak of a viral epidemic -- Kenji finds himself just as involved as anyone else. Central to all of these occurances is a symbol that Kenji finds familiar but can't quite identify, and a cult whose leader is known only as the "friend." Somehow these events are tied into Kenji's childhood, but after so many years he can't quite figure out how, exactly, it all fits together.

Thoughts:

This manga starts out a little slow, but by the end of volume two, you really begin to see where it's all headed, and that destination looks pretty exciting. So far this story has all of the best elements of an Urasawa manga -- an unexpected protagonist, a complex and interweaving plot, extensive background elements, and sinister overtones. Yet for all of its familiar aspects, 20th Century Boys feels as though it's definitely going to be different, and I'm looking forward to that.

Read the full review at The Reader Eclectic.

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Just to get things started, I thought I'd post a review that I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA by Scott Lynch
Bantam Books, 2007, 722 pages, 978-0-553-58894-1, Mass Market, $6.99

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis:

The Lies of Locke Lamora takes place in the city of Camorr and focuses almost exclusively on the happenings of the city’s underbelly. More specifically, it focuses on Locke, a sometimes rash but always brilliant thief who caused more trouble before the age of ten than some of the city’s veteran criminals managed in their entire careers. The story’s narrative switches between two timelines (which might be a tad confusing at first, but you quickly get used to it), one revolving around Locke’s childhood and training, and one that shows him leading the Gentleman Bastards on a long con job against one of the city’s prominent citizens.

But, naturally, there are complications, and Locke is nothing if not resourceful.

Thoughts:

I really, really enjoyed this book. Granted, it took me a few chapters to really get my bearings. Lynch's style isn't like anything I'd ever read before (not that was done well, anyway), and I had to get used to it - not to mention, I had to figure out that there were multiple timelines that I needed to keep track of (well, two, but I didn't know that at first). Once I had that straightened out, though, I became quite engaged with both the story and the characters. Locke is a lot of fun, and I was glad that Lynch chose to give enough background for Jean that he became someone I was interested in as well. I'm expecting good things from the second book in the series, so I'll be quite excited to get to that review when it comes around.

Read the full review at The Reader Eclectic.

(There shouldn't be anything terribly spoiler-ish in the full review - at least not that I recall).

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