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nerdyreferencelibrarian89's Reviews (1.18k)
I really enjoyed this book, and I am not even a huge X-Files fan! I listened to it in audio and the narrator was excellent. I also felt like the teen Moulder was spot on. The mystery was compelling, and hard to figure out which direction it would spin. The side characters were enjoyable, and it set up the foundation for an interesting series.
If I have one picky criticism it was that Gimble, the D&D playing character, felt a little too much like the clueless side kick. He also was constantly referencing D&D, but I am not certain how much the writer actually knows about the game, since most of the references didn't make sense.
If I have one picky criticism it was that Gimble, the D&D playing character, felt a little too much like the clueless side kick. He also was constantly referencing D&D, but I am not certain how much the writer actually knows about the game, since most of the references didn't make sense.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was fascinating to see the everyday lives of nuclear clean up workers in Fukushima. The in depth illustrations and descriptions really helped create a sense of understanding for this sort of work.
If I have one complaint it is that the book at times was rather dry. THe worker's personalities often served to liven up the narrative, but it does hit some very slow parts. That being said the creator is very clear that this is not a story of overblown details exaggerated to merely entertain, instead he tried to stay as truthful as possible, which meant highlighting the at times monotony of the workplace.
If I have one complaint it is that the book at times was rather dry. THe worker's personalities often served to liven up the narrative, but it does hit some very slow parts. That being said the creator is very clear that this is not a story of overblown details exaggerated to merely entertain, instead he tried to stay as truthful as possible, which meant highlighting the at times monotony of the workplace.
When I picked this up I was hoping it would be as cool as the cover, and for the most part it delivered. Some context, I have no prior knowledge about Gundam, except that it is a series with big piloted mechs that fight, and that the older episodes of the show I saw were a bit campy and cheesy.
This manga; however, was not campy or cheesy! I liked the artstyle, it was a little gritty, with a bit of an old school feel. The story was compelling, thrusting the reader right into the action. It follows two main characters on opposing sides of a war, each representing the ace pilot for their side.
I really enjoyed the narrative, which twined together perspectives from both sides of the conflict, making each side appear sympathetic. This also demonstrated the horrors of this long term conflict, with many characters mentioning past casualties, or the hardships that had been caused by it.
If I am being picky I have 2 small complaints. One while I don't mind being thrust into the action, I like to have a bit more of the setting explained pretty early on. This still left a lot to hints and the imagination, which at times was a little confusing.
I also felt like it was tough at times to follow which characters were which, and on what side, due to the black and white illustrations. For the most part it is clear, but occasionally I had to relook over a panel to figure out what was happening.
Overall, this was really good start to a series and I am very excited to continue to read it! I may even give the Gundam anime a try :)!
This manga; however, was not campy or cheesy! I liked the artstyle, it was a little gritty, with a bit of an old school feel. The story was compelling, thrusting the reader right into the action. It follows two main characters on opposing sides of a war, each representing the ace pilot for their side.
I really enjoyed the narrative, which twined together perspectives from both sides of the conflict, making each side appear sympathetic. This also demonstrated the horrors of this long term conflict, with many characters mentioning past casualties, or the hardships that had been caused by it.
If I am being picky I have 2 small complaints. One while I don't mind being thrust into the action, I like to have a bit more of the setting explained pretty early on. This still left a lot to hints and the imagination, which at times was a little confusing.
I also felt like it was tough at times to follow which characters were which, and on what side, due to the black and white illustrations. For the most part it is clear, but occasionally I had to relook over a panel to figure out what was happening.
Overall, this was really good start to a series and I am very excited to continue to read it! I may even give the Gundam anime a try :)!
This is Epic Collection was great. It maintained the same characters and central story, which some of the others do not. The art work and style also stayed the same excellent quality.
Story wise there is a lot to love, despite having a Jedi main character these stories read a lot closer to a narrative centered around a smuggler. If you are looking for a story with great characters, some nice action, smuggling, but that does not connect to the movies in anyway, look no further.
My biggest complaint is that it ends on a cliff hanger, and the next one is not out yet! The Jedi rules also seem drastically different from that set in previous SW fiction I have read, but oh well.
UPDATE: Started the next volume and loving it. Would recommend this to any Star Wars fans!
Story wise there is a lot to love, despite having a Jedi main character these stories read a lot closer to a narrative centered around a smuggler. If you are looking for a story with great characters, some nice action, smuggling, but that does not connect to the movies in anyway, look no further.
My biggest complaint is that it ends on a cliff hanger, and the next one is not out yet! The Jedi rules also seem drastically different from that set in previous SW fiction I have read, but oh well.
UPDATE: Started the next volume and loving it. Would recommend this to any Star Wars fans!
This volume moves the narrative out of the isolated Thunderbolt sector, and into the larger conflict in the galaxy.
The zeon forces have continued to be beaten back, despite victories in the Thunderbolt sector, and our two protagonists (antagonists?) appear during the conflict.
I really struggled to place the Thunderbolt conflict within the larger conflict depicted in this volume. Did the Thunderbolt sector really matter? What effect did that have on the larger conflict? These questions are not really answered.
About halfway thru this volume the war is ended and time moves ahead almost a whole year. We see both our main characters easing into different style of lives. This has an interesting effect of showing the characters in the sort of post war veteran status; however, it appears that violence is still brewing under the surface. I am curious to see where this narrative goes, but this volume suffered from sort of ending one story thread, and introducing hints of another, but not really starting one.
Worth reading, but not my favorite entry in this series.
The zeon forces have continued to be beaten back, despite victories in the Thunderbolt sector, and our two protagonists (antagonists?) appear during the conflict.
I really struggled to place the Thunderbolt conflict within the larger conflict depicted in this volume. Did the Thunderbolt sector really matter? What effect did that have on the larger conflict? These questions are not really answered.
About halfway thru this volume the war is ended and time moves ahead almost a whole year. We see both our main characters easing into different style of lives. This has an interesting effect of showing the characters in the sort of post war veteran status; however, it appears that violence is still brewing under the surface. I am curious to see where this narrative goes, but this volume suffered from sort of ending one story thread, and introducing hints of another, but not really starting one.
Worth reading, but not my favorite entry in this series.
Ancient gods from a variety of pantheons come back every 90 years, but only get to live for 2 years. As the story starts it seems that every deity has become an extremely famous pop star, as the gods desire to be adored by fans.
As the story goes on we get to see glimpses of the gods' true powers, but they are largely self policed. There are allusions that the return of the gods can be halted by mortals, and that mortals can harm the gods, but not exactly how.
This first volume was a whirlwind following the path of a fan girl of the gods, who gets mixed up in their politicking.
The artwork was very cool, I also quite liked the personalities of some of the main gods highlighted. That said I found it difficult to truly get each gods powers, especially the ones I wasn't familiar with. I also thought that it seemed unclear if the same gods returned every time or if it is different gods. I also found it a little confusing how gods from different pantheons could interact, and what true influence they had on the mortal realm.
I found this interesting and intriguing, and will be giving the next volume a try, but it didn't completely blow me away.
As the story goes on we get to see glimpses of the gods' true powers, but they are largely self policed. There are allusions that the return of the gods can be halted by mortals, and that mortals can harm the gods, but not exactly how.
This first volume was a whirlwind following the path of a fan girl of the gods, who gets mixed up in their politicking.
The artwork was very cool, I also quite liked the personalities of some of the main gods highlighted. That said I found it difficult to truly get each gods powers, especially the ones I wasn't familiar with. I also thought that it seemed unclear if the same gods returned every time or if it is different gods. I also found it a little confusing how gods from different pantheons could interact, and what true influence they had on the mortal realm.
I found this interesting and intriguing, and will be giving the next volume a try, but it didn't completely blow me away.
This second volume moves into a little more action, as Hideo begins to realize the chaos that is happening around him. There are so major wow that is terrifying moments, some of which are drawn from mundane things, made worse by the knowledge of what is happening. For example, at one point Hideo is stranded in the woods at night, it is pitch black, and he is freaking out due to his own issues; however, as a reader I couldn't help but also be scared, I mean the zombie apocalypse is happening, so a lot of his fear is justified! But being scared of the dark in the woods is such a mundane fear, made real in this story.
Hideo ends up joining up with the girl on the cover later in the story, and his gun finally gets fired! I am really excited to dive into the 3rd volume and see where these characters go. Hideo's odd humor and issues really resonate with me and I like the dynamic of a teen age girl constantly reassuring him, while seeming far less phased by everything.
Hideo ends up joining up with the girl on the cover later in the story, and his gun finally gets fired! I am really excited to dive into the 3rd volume and see where these characters go. Hideo's odd humor and issues really resonate with me and I like the dynamic of a teen age girl constantly reassuring him, while seeming far less phased by everything.
I liked this story. It was really tough to follow initially, so I tried to just focus on the characters and action, and not worry about the places or larger events being named. After a while I started to glean a better understanding of the events unfolding and really was entertained.
The main character for this book is a physician for a band of mercenaries, who have hired themselves out to the bad guys of the realm. Without spoiling the book this leads to some interesting situations and allies.
The book really picks up around midpoint, once the characters have been firmly established in the reader's mind. It ends on a big bang, that was well worth the anticipation for a big conflict the whole book.
I did have some complaints though, hence the 3 star rating. At no point are we told how large the Black COmpany is, which makes their actions extremely difficult to mentally picture. There are a few things which are hinted at, and hopefully are revealed in later stories, but irritated me not to know in this one, Raven's past and person being a major let down, he remained so unknown.
I also do not think the action in much of the early book was well described, it was tough to picture.
I will be trying the second book of this series, but it did not immediately jump to the top of my reading pile.
The main character for this book is a physician for a band of mercenaries, who have hired themselves out to the bad guys of the realm. Without spoiling the book this leads to some interesting situations and allies.
The book really picks up around midpoint, once the characters have been firmly established in the reader's mind. It ends on a big bang, that was well worth the anticipation for a big conflict the whole book.
I did have some complaints though, hence the 3 star rating. At no point are we told how large the Black COmpany is, which makes their actions extremely difficult to mentally picture. There are a few things which are hinted at, and hopefully are revealed in later stories, but irritated me not to know in this one, Raven's past and person being a major let down, he remained so unknown.
I also do not think the action in much of the early book was well described, it was tough to picture.
I will be trying the second book of this series, but it did not immediately jump to the top of my reading pile.
I have really enjoyed the Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt series, it's gritty, has interesting and sympathetic characters, and the action sequences are awesome. The biggest weakness of the series is that it can be very tough to tell apart the sides during conflicts. This weakness really came to the forefront in this 3rd installment of the series.
The Federation and Zeon forces have horrifically battered each other. The lines of combat are confused and mixed, because of this the troops themselves are not always obvious, with the line between prisoner and victor tough to tell apart.
The end of this volume pulled the narrative back together enough to sell it to me, but in the middle I was extremely confused.
The Federation and Zeon forces have horrifically battered each other. The lines of combat are confused and mixed, because of this the troops themselves are not always obvious, with the line between prisoner and victor tough to tell apart.
The end of this volume pulled the narrative back together enough to sell it to me, but in the middle I was extremely confused.