Yokai: Shigeru Mizuki's Supernatural Parade by Mizuki Shigeru: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Yokai: Shigeru Mizuki's Supernatural Parade by Mizuki Shigeru

Mizuki Shigeru (1922-2015) was one of the founders of Japanese manga after the WW2. But he was also a life-long student of Japanese folklore and especially yokai, the supernatural creatures, spirits and other phenomena that he held to be the integral part of Japanese (or any) nature. He wrote several books and encyclopaedia of them during his long life, and they had a deep impact on his work as a manga artist.

This is a collection of some of Mizuki’s yokai art edited by Zach Davidson, translator and folklorist. The book consists of horizontal, full-page, full-colour original images by Mizuki, with brief explanations of each yokai and some personal anecdotes of those yokai Mizuki had encountered himself.

The art is absolutely gorgeous. They combine folkloristic images of yokai, sometimes in traditional Japanese woodcut style, with comical manga images of humans encountering them. They’re highly imaginative and full of details that a reader can spend ages studying, always finding new things. I absolutely loved them. I wish they’d chosen one of the colourful images on the cover too, instead of the rather bland two-tone image.

From the editor, I would’ve needed a little more information. There’s a brief biography at the beginning of the book that concentrates on Mizuki as a folklorist rather than a manga artist, which somehow manages to leave out the detail mentioned in the back copy bio that Mizuki lost an arm in WW2. Which arm, and did it affect his work as an artist? I would also have liked to learn how this collection was edited. Is it an existing book or did the editor make a selection? How was the selection made? Based on images, editor’s favourite yokai, or potential reader interest? Are the descriptions Mizuki’s original, abbreviated from originals, or editor’s own? I would also have liked a table of contents or an index that would’ve made searching for a particular yokai easier.

These technical details aside, this is a delightful collection, a perfect coffee table book, and a starting point for anyone interested in Japanese yokai and Mizuki’s art.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop

Turns of Fate starts the Isle of Wyrd, a new urban fantasy series by Anne Bishop. It’s set in modern US, though the exact time or location aren’t given. It’s a great start, but a tad difficult to review.

A town of Penwych stands by a river, closest to Isle of Wyrd, which is a weird, supernatural place where the arcana—the fae, maybe—live and interact with humans in Destiny Park. During the day, they look like human, but they’re anything but. People visit the Destiny Park to have their future read or to bargain with the arcana to change their fate. You pay the price, which is seldom money, and if you betray them, you’re punished according to your fate.

Sometimes the punishments catch up with them on the human side of the river where they are investigated by the 13th precinct, which consists of people who aren’t afraid to visit the island and its odd and scary occupants. Beth Fahey is the newest detective there, and she’s thrown in the deep end from the start. But to her captain’s surprise, she gets along with the arcana surprisingly well. Suspiciously well. She’s sort of the main character, although she’s mostly on the background, her story unravelling slowly.

This was an episodic novel consisting of several cases that the 13th precinct investigates. There’s a case of a ghost gun, for example; bullying teenagers disappearing in the island, and a woman fleeing an ex. All were about abuse in some way, parental abuse, bullying, spousal abuse etc. It made for a heavy reading at times, even if the details weren’t dwelled on. The cases are told from several points of view, the perpetrators included, and while they conclude in one manner, they affect the other cases too, or are returned to at a later stage when the fate catches up with the perpetrators.

All cases were interesting, even if they weren’t traditional mysteries as such. The arcana emerge more helpful than humans believe them to be, although they are thoroughly alien in their nature, and they never help in a straightforward manner. The bad people are always humans. The atmosphere is similarly dark and mysterious as in Bishop’s The Others series, where humans are a small minority at the mercy of ancient gods. The conflict between humans and the arcana isn’t imminent here, but I’m guessing that’s where the story is headed to.

The episodic narrative worked, but it also meant that the story had several smaller high points without a larger arc, and it ended kind of abruptly, at the conclusion of one of the cases. The main characters were interesting, and the stories never went where I thought they would go. There’s no romance, but maybe a possibility of one. Beth found new things about herself and her past, but her story is only beginning. I’ll definitely continue.

Peerless vol. 5 by Meng Xi Shi: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Peerless vol. 5 by Meng Xi Shi

Volume 5 of Peerless ends the story of two imperial agents, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao, from competing agencies in Sui dynasty China. They’ve been on a trail of a secret organisation the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai, and have managed to reduce their numbers to only the leader, Xiao Lü.

The last volume continues from where the previous one left, the aftermath of government officials swindling flood aid. Both men are in poor health, Cui Buqu for his chronic illness and Feng Xiao for his battle with Xiao Lü. But they’re called back to the capital and must haste there. Xiao Lü is ready for his final move and he has new allies with a horrible weapon that causes people to hallucinate and kill each other. To defeat him, both men come close to ruin and death.

This has been a great series. The investigation has been all over the place and at times impossible to comprehend, but the enemies to lovers story of Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao has been absolutely delightful to follow. But the last book wasn’t nearly as good. Too much space was given to unimportant characters and their points of view. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao worked in the background, and the reader wasn’t privy to their investigations and cleverness until everything was set for the final confrontation. It made for a very unsatisfying and even boring read. Not even the final battle brought a completely satisfying ending.

The love story at least had its moments. There were kisses, jealousy, and attempts to wring confessions from each other. But the story ends kind of mid-scene without proper resolution to the romance, and the several epilogues and a bonus story merely continue with the hunt of the Thirteen Floors and doesn’t really bring anything new to the romance. Definitely no happily ever after moments, or a glimpse to the men’s future.

Overall though, I’m left happy with the series. I can imagine the men continuing as they’ve been, bickering, scheming and one-upping each other in public and loving each other in secret. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao will definitely remain one of my favourite danmei couples.

Love Between Fairy and Devil (Novel) Vol. 2 by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Love Between Fairy & Devil vol. 2 by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

Volume 2 concludes the love story of the orchid fairy Xiao Lanhua and Demon Lord Dongfang Qingcang. Xiao Lanhua spent most of the previous volume without a body of her own, having accidentally killed it. Dongfang Qingcang promised her a new body, and at the end of the volume, created her one out of living clay.

Things are never that easy though, when dealing with an evil entity. Xiao Lanhua learns to her horror that the body isn’t meant for her but for the Scarlet Lady, the former god of war, who defeated the demon lord. He wants revenge and since she’s dead, he needs to bring her back in order to have it. He means Xiao Lanhua to prepare the clay body with her special abilities for the lady. Problem is, she’ll die in the process.

The second volume is mostly about Xiao Lanhua trying to avoid her fate. She tries to flee from him several times, only for him to bring her back. But every time he arrives just in time to save her from a mortal peril, after which he’s very nice to her, which messes with her head and heart. It brings her very low. It doesn’t help when she learns that the safe haven she’s been trying to flee to is no more and she’s been abandoned.

Dongfang Qingcang is on a more straightforward path. He’ll take the demon realm back, bring the Scarlet Lady back to life, defeat her and then rule the demon realm. There’s no room for Xiao Lanhua in that plan. But things don’t go his way. He gains back his emotions, including the ability to love, not that he pays attention to it. Nor does he question why he always goes after Xiao Lanhua and never punishes her, even though he’s an evil demon.

And then he gets what he wanted, the Scarlet Lady back. But turns out, revenge isn’t important anymore after all. He wants Xiao Lanhua, only it’s too late for her. What follows is a redemption arc—of sorts—for Dongfang Qingcang. He needs to change drastically and it almost happens, at least when it comes to her.

This was a good conclusion for the romance. With only two volumes, it was a very short book compared to other Chinese fantasy, but it didn’t need to be longer than this. I felt for Xiao Lanhua, who only wanted to live. It wasn’t easy for her to know that the man she loved, despite trying not to, only needed her as a disposable medicine. And it was very difficult to root for Dongfang Qingcang as a romantic interest when he remained evil throughout the story and was responsible for what happened to Xiao Lanhua. But the author really made him work for the happily ever after, and in the end it felt earned and as it should be.

There are three extras, two of them about side characters. Third one is about Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang living their happily ever after. Sort of. And it may be, she’s been changed by him a little too, at least when it comes to adventures.

As I noted in my review of the previous volume, the original story is very different from the TV adaptation. There are similar elements and some characters, but the original story is more straightforward and less soapy. I’m not sure if either of them is the better one. Both have a good romance and a lot of twists and turns. If you’ve seen the adaptation, I recommend the book too.

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe

This is the first LitRPG book that I’ve read and I’m not a gamer, but I’ve read similar Japanese light novels and manga of adventurers and heroes on a quest to conquer dungeons and defeat the final boss. In the world of this book, Demon King arises every hundred years, followed by a hero who will (almost) always defeat him. The cycle has been unchanging for millennia, but now something’s different. Demon King is advancing faster than usually, but a hero hasn’t emerged out of schedule to defeat him.

Yui Shaw knows something has to be done and fast. Lacking better candidates for a hero, she decides to become one herself. She sets out a simple ten step plan for herself. She has to be accepted into an adventurer class, become stronger by levelling up enough times, clear some dungeons for important artefacts, obtain the hero’s sacred sword, build an adventuring party, and finally defeat the Demon King.

From the beginning, her path is unconventional. She chooses to become Bag Magician, which is basically a porter with some magical help. She does consider orphan class, but her parents refuse to disown her. Her new class comes with overlooked advances that she sets out to make the most of.

She befriends Ken, a low-class priest with a side class as a fashionista, who guards the sacred sword, and together they start levelling up by killing slimes. Soon, it’s time to start clearing the dungeons, but not like the heroes usually do it. Along the way, they have help from a fairy and definitely not a missing princess.

Demon King seems to be a step ahead of them all the time, but Yui is resourceful and clever. With her unconventional skills and unwavering belief in herself and her companions, she prepares for the final battle. The outcome is surprising for everyone.

This was a fun book. It’s exactly as advertised, a LitRPG with a clear path set out for the characters and the reader that is followed to the letter. The fun comes from watching Yui overcome her disadvantages, the biggest one being that she’s not the hero and the story is stacked against her. The story doesn’t in any way try to deepen her character or tell anything about her that isn’t necessary. I don’t even know her age. Ken remains similarly distant, but he’s a good supporting character. The additional side characters work well too.

If you like LitRPG stories, or even if you simply like good adventure stories, this is for you. Nothing truly bad happens, so it’s suitable for younger readers too. The ending hints at more adventures for Yui and Ken. I’d read those.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.