No Thoroughfare ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: No Thoroughfare
Series: ----------
Author: Charles Dickens & Wilkie Collins
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 256
Format: Digital Edition

The synopsis will have some real spoilers, so if you think you might ever read this book and don't want it spoiled, just read the “My Thoughts” portion.

Synopsis: Spoilers

A baby boy is given to an Foundling and in his teen years is adopted by an older lady. She educates him and reveals that she is his birth mother. She sets him on the path of success in the Wine Business and promptly passes away.

Said young man, Walter Wilding, is in poor health and so takes on a partner to help with the business, one George Vendale. Walter also hires a new housekeeper and in the process it is revealed that she was a former nurse at the Foundling. It is also revealed that there were several “Walter Wilding”s and the lady got the wrong one. This distresses young Wilding to no end and he begins to seek out the rightful heir. It also places an incredible stress upon his already weak constitution and he soon passes away. He leaves it to his partner George to find the heir and if he can't, to take Wilding's share of the company.

At the same time, George is woo'ing Margeurite Obenreizer, a young swiss woman who is under the guardianship of her half-uncle. During this whole thing, it is revealed by an inquiry of George's that someone in a high position of trust, has been stealing money from the company that Obenreizer works for.

George ends up taking a hike over the Alps to give his evidence and of course it is Obenreizer, who goes along to try to either steal the evidence or kill George. Margeurite senses something is wrong, follows with the help of faithful retainer of George's and saves George only to apparently have him die in her arms.

Several months elapse and Obenreizer, now let go from his previous job, is working for a lawyer with the aim of stealing his secrets and using them for personal gain. He learns something about Vendale, who he thinks is dead. Then Margeurite and George spring forth, alive and whole and reveal the treachery of Obenreizer in full. Obenreizer, thinking he is getting revenge, reveals that George Vendale is actually adopted by the Vendales and that he was a foundling. Of course, it turns out that George Vendale was the heir that Walter Wilding was looking for the entire time.

The book ends with Obenreizer dying in an avalanche and George and Margeurite getting married.

My Thoughts:

I remembered a few things from my initial read in '03, but in so many ways it was like reading it for the first time. I enjoyed this a lot.

This was drama of the finest vintage. Orphans and searches for lost heirs and love and evil villains and love triumphant and just desserts. This has it all in spades. And it is short, so anyone who might be intimidated by Dicken's rather lengthy style won't be put off. I don't have anything else to say. I'm tired and worded out.

★★★★☆

• No Thoroughfare (2003 Review)

The Devil in Miss Urd (Oh My Goddess! #11) ★★☆☆☆ (Manga Monday)

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Devil in Miss Urd
Series: Oh My Goddess! #11
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

Kei, Bell and the gang all “win” a trip to a hotsprings. There, they run across Mara and they all decide to call a truce while on vacation. Of course, it is all a ruse by Mara to gain a strand of Urd's hair, which she uses to make a clone of Urd. The clone is empty and needs a soul.

Mara kidnapps Urd and using junkstore equipment, separates her goddess half from her demon half. The demon half Mara sends into the clone and lets it loose. Belldandy realizes what is going on and knows that if one half of Urd's soul perishes, the other will as well. So they can't destroy Demon Urd, just try to subdue her. Goddess Urd gets free and with the help of Belldandy and Skuld, Urd is put back together again. Of course, there is an empty “Urd skin” lying around.

The book ends with a one shot story of Banpei the robot putting on the Urd skin and going around helping people.

My Thoughts:

This was amusing. Convoluted, silly and not well thought out, but amusing nonetheless.

I think my biggest problem with this series is that I constantly see the manga-ka undercutting himself in the longterm to get what he wants in the short term. Take Urd. She's supposedly half-goddess and half-demon. Gods and Demons are supposedly the antithesis of each other, so how did she come about? And then it is revealed that even the Almighty couldn't separate Urd's two natures but we're supposed to believe that imbecilic Mara can do it? It is just too evident that Fujishima is making things up as he goes and the inconsistancies are glaring.

Going to be talking to myself for a minute, so bear with it. This series is making me not want to read manga at all. I dread having to read this because it is so blah and this re-read has destroyed all my good memories of what I read before. The romance and humor that appealed to me when I was 24 has not matured along with me. I've outgrown this and cannot overlook the faults. And yet I paid for the whole 48 volumes. I feel like I've got a ball and chain wrapped around my neck and I've been tossed off the dock.

And when I put it as bluntly as that, I realize something. I don't like this manga anymore and while I spent some good money on it, spending TIME on it will not justify the money. I need to cut my losses and just let it go. I am done with this series. Hopefully I can at least sell it on Craigslist and not lose all my money.

I think this final picture is appropriate. Goodbye Oh My Goddess! Only the anime ova shall live on in my memory. This manga has punished me enough.

Sweet Belldandy, it wasn't only Kei who loved you back then

★★☆☆☆ 

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

Miss Keiichi (Oh My Goddess! #10) ★★★☆☆ (Manga Monday)

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Miss Keiichi
Series: Oh My Goddess! #10
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 117
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

Urd and Skuld are called back to Heaven, giving Kei some alone time with Belldandy. She gets sick, he messes around with some of Urd's “medicine” and ends up turning himself into a girl. He manages to get ahold of Urd and she and Skuld come back to nurse Belldandy back to health.

Then a former lover of Urds shows up, a Plum Spirit, by the name of Troubador. He professes to want to get together with Urd but is really after her tears so he can complete his training as a bard. He is insanely jealous and so Urd won't turn Kei back into a guy while he's around.

Kei gets suckered into taking over the motor club since the two elder students are graduating that year. He wins a competition only to find out that the two Senpais are staying on for advanced mechanical courses and so will still be in charge.

A girl confesses to Kei in a love letter but her ulterior motive is to perform an exorcism on him as she claims she senses “unhuman” energy surrounding him. Due to her own ineptness, she calls forth some super demon dog and it is only thanks to Urd manipulating Belldandy's jealousy that allows them all to survive.

Megumi has left the motorclub to join the softball team, but with only 4 members, they are being pressured by the baseball club to fold up and become gofers for them. Megumi, Kei and everyone else gets together as a team and end up winning on a technicality. And Urd shows cleavage.

The final story is about Megumi finding a stray dog, it worming its way into everyone's heart, Megumi finding the owner and Kei admitting he really likes the dog.

My Thoughts:

The only amusing part of this manga was when Kei was a woman and preparing to take a bath. I'll let this picture speak for itself.

The rest of these chapters? Barely humorous, wallowing in vapid sentimentality (that puppy chapter just about made me barf) and generally feeling like the manga-ka was mailing it in. Nothing happens. There is no overall plot. A good manga doesn't always need some overarching story. Yotsuba is the perfect example of that and the manga-ka there carries it off really well. I can forgive random crap chapters when they at least entertain me or are funny or “something”. However, this book felt like a big bowl of diet vanilla pudding. I don't know if “diet” vanilla pudding even exists, but I imagine it tastes like chalk or something and that is what this book came across as. Dry and bleh.

Mediocre is a good word for this volume. “Miss Keiichi” keeps it from dropping to a 2 ½ rating since I found that panel very humorous.

★★★☆☆ 

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

As You Like It ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: As You Like It
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 120
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Orlando, youngest son of a dead lord, has been cheated by his older brother. He runs off to the Duke, out wrestles the duke's champion and meets, and falls in love with, Rosalind. He then runs off to the forest because the Duke didn't like his pappy. There he pines for Rosalind. He meets a young man, who is really Rosalind in diguise ands woos said young man who claims that he can cure anyone of love. Orlando is successful and Rosalind marries him, all the while she is orchestrating the marriage of 2 other couples along with her own nuptials. Orlando's brother gives up the estates to him, the naughty duke, Rosalind's Uncle, takes religious vows and Rosalind's daddy becomes ruler.

Everybody is happy. The End.

My Thoughts:

I keep wanting to treat these plays like novels and you just can't do that. The value contained in the words aren't necessarily the actual plots. Boy and Girl fall in love, overcome Incredible Odds, Happy Ending for Everyone. That story is as old and Jacob and Rachel. Yet, seeing these plot points is good as it gives you the necessary understanding of where so much of our modern stories come from. There is truly nothing new under the sun.

You can say that again.

What I am liking is the metred cadence. This is a play. It is meant to be spoken. While I am not, at this point in time, reading these outloud, I am not discounting the idea of doing that for one of these, just to hear how it flows. I am no thespian, nor poetic enough to write in iambic pentameter, but some time this year I'm going to try to write one of my reviews like it was a Shakespeare play. I already know that will take some serious work. The whole mindset has to be different than the prose I am used to and think in.

Honestly, I can't even tell you exactly what iambic pentameter IS or how to do it. I know roughly it is so many this and thats over so many lines, blah, blah, blah. Not sure if rhyming is necessary or not. See, I have a lot to learn before I even attempt a review like that. And Shakespeare wrote a whole raft full of the bloody things.

★★★☆½

• Previous Shakespeare Reviews

Ninja Master (Oh My Goddess! #9) ★★★★☆ (Manga Monday)

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Ninja Master
Series: Oh My Goddess! #9
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 117
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

This volume starts out with Kei and the girls at a beach where Urd, always trying to hurry along Kei and Belldandy's romance, informs Kei that telling Belldandy he loves her under a full moon will result in their eternal happiness. Urd interferes to make things happen while Skuld interferes to stop them.

Next Skuld goes through a goddess growing up moment, only nobody tells her or Kei and Kei thinks she's started her periods. So he goes to the department store to buy her “feminine products” and almost gets sold a Happy Family Planning pack.

The final story of this book revolves around Mara siccing a bunch of chibi ninja's upon the household. Kodoma goes in first and is overcome by Bell's kindness and moves her loyalty to Bell. Then Kodoma's best friend Hikari makes her move, with the same result. Then the rest of the clan attacks everyone and Belldandy uses a spell to knock them all out. The little ninjas all renounce Mara and send her a break up letter. Oh, one of the Ninjettes is a Peeping Tom Boy.

My Thoughts:

Now this is the Oh My Goddess I remember. Funny vignette style stories that are light and fluffy and fun to read, as long as you don't poke at them.

It is evident that the manga-ka is poking fun at himself in regards to Kei and Bell's romance as the first little ninja writes down something like “Bell and Kei Romance: Kindergarten Level” on her first recon mission. It just made me grin.

This time around Fujishima's humor really worked for me. I was amused from start to finish. Not exactly sure if it was me just being in a good mood or if the humor was actually that funny. The end result was the same though. I laughed out loud several times.

What got me the most though was the whole Senrigan the Peeping Tom Boy. That is the picture this time and boy, did it strike my fancy. The scale isn't here in this picture, but these girls are all the size of your hand. So imagine something that small filled with that much attitude.

Better watch out or Senrigan will tell on you.

★★★★☆ 

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

Mara Strikes Back! (Oh My Goddess! #8) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Mara Strikes Back!
Series: Oh My Goddess! #8
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

Chapter Stories.

Mara returns. She releases an unhappiness demon on Kei but because of Belldandy the unhappiness is turned to happiness. At the same time Mara also possesses Megumi to try to separate Kei and Bell. With predictable results all around.

Kei and the Auto Club go for a vacation to an old inn and there Kei is visited by a ghost. A ghost his grandfather made a promise to long ago. Kei must fulfill the promise or be possessed.

Skuld makes a new robot, Banpei and there are the typical misadventures. Urd is recalled to Heaven but the goddesses put their heads together and cast a warding around the house, to ostensibly keep Mara out but a side affect is that the gate for Urd can't open either. This crashes the system, again and so the girls are still dependent on moon rocks.

The final story is about Sora trying to make a box lunch for the guy she likes. Belldandy helps her out and Sora gives one to Kei and everyone, but Bell, thinks that Sora likes Kei. Turns out Kei was a test subject and Sora really likes Aoshima, that jerk cousin to Sayoko. No accounting for taste I guess.

My Thoughts:

The stories in this volume were a lot more enjoyable than in previous volumes. The whole Mara Strikes Back was probably the best with the others being slightly funny to meh.

There is so much potential here that Fujishima HAS to get a story right even if by accident. I like his drawings a lot, just kind of wish he'd had a separate manga-ka to do the storylines. But when you write for a monthly magazine, kind of tough to split the cut two ways and have enough to live on I guess.

This time around the picture I chose to showcase stood out to me the moment I saw it and I KNEW it was the one to include. Urd has just messed with Sora's boxlunch with one of her infamous love potions and Belldandy is NOT happy. While Belldandy is usually the levelheaded, peaceable one, she's also the most powerful. It is rather nice to see her looking so determined, with that “annoyed adult” look on her face.

Bell might be sweet but she's also the most mature

 ★★★☆½

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

Queen of Vengeance (Oh My Goddess! #7) ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Queen of Vengeance
Series: Oh My Goddess! #7
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 152
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

And we're back to chapter stories.

With the goddess computer system down, the goddesses can't convert the energy they need. Plus Skuld and Urd begin aging differently so Urd gets kiddiefied and Skuld grows up overnight while Belldandy has to split herself into tiny versions to conserve energy. Keiichi ends up solving the mystery by making moon rocks and turning them into bracelets for his 3 houseguests.

Then Skuld and Megumi get into a robot battle and while Megumi wins, Skuld throws a tantrum and blows everything up.

The volume ends with Sayoko trying to steal Kei away from Bell again and failing, again.

My Thoughts:

Thank goodness we return to the chapter stories. Much more slice of life. The ridiculous factor gets dialed down, as it is physically impossible to stuff as much nonsense as we read in the previous book into a single chapter story here. I just read them, was amused and moved on to the next story.

Also, trying to get a decent picture is getting harder and harder as these Dark Horse original releases are out of sync with the actual release and there are no chapter numbers or even page numbers in these paperback copy releases. I have to hope that the digital volume number contains most of the chapters the paper one has and then start diving around. Since chapters are moved around for the paper copies, I feel like I'm throwing a bent fork at a target sometimes.

I was a huge fan of this series when I was in my 20's but now, I have to admit, I am having some real serious doubts about just how far I'll go. Obviously I'm not the target audience anymore, but there are manga that still interest me. It's not even that I don't like romantic comedies, as my owning W Juliet and Karo Kano shows (of course, I haven't re-read those since I bought them either. Oh dear....).

I enjoyed this more than the previous book and think that at this juncture that Fujishima can tell a better short story than he can a novel. However, I had to drop it down 1/2star because being honest, it feels like I've been rating the previous volumes with some serious nostalgia goggles and I can't do that anymore. The cold cruel reality of the weaknesses of this manga have clawed their way into my brain and eaten my eyes and filled my ears with maggots. Ok, that last sentence was just to see if anyone was paying attention * wink *

This is the picture that stuck out to me this time around. I'm not exactly sure why, but something about Kei and Bell, both looking up, it is almost like they are inviting me into the story, into the romance of their life. Being on the motorcycle and in the sidecar, with no other goddesses, grounds the picture in hard reality. But they are both smiling and looking happy and content. THAT is very appealing.

★★★☆☆ 

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

Winter Rose ★★★★½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Winter Rose
Series: ----------
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 173
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Rois, younger sister of Laurel, is a wild young woman who loves the woods. She finds a hidden pool behind a curtain of wild roses and in the process of drinking from it one day, sees a stranger coalesce out of light and shadow.

She later finds out that a young man, Corbet Lynn, has returned to the village to repair and live in his ancestral home. His father supposedly murdered his grandfather in the middle of winter long ago and the grandfather cursed him and all his descendants. But no one knows what the curse actually is.

Rois feels an attraction to Corbet and in a dream is told to never let him go. Back in the real world, it becomes obvious that Corbet is in love with Rois's older sister Laurel, who is engaged to Perrin, a local farmer. Rois figures out that Corbet is from the fairy world, ie, The Wood and in a dream-like trip there, comes across Corbet's father, Tearle Lynn. He is under the spell of the fairy queen and when the fairy queen tries to take Corbet for her own, Tearle fights his ensorcellement and ultimately ends up dead in our world in the Lynn house and Corbet has disappeared.

With Corbet gone in deepest mid-winter, Laurel begins to fade away, much like their mother did years and years ago. Rois offers herself up to the Fairy Queen but her humanity ends up breaking the spell the Queen has over her, Corbet and Laurel. Laurel wakes from her infatuation with Corbet and Corbet realizes he was trying to be in love with her humanity to keep himself out of The Wood. Since he is free, he can choose Rois and she can choose him.

The book ends with spring just around the corner and Corbet beginning to truly rebuild Lynn Manor.

My Thoughts:

One of the reasons I like to re-read books is to re-evaluate how I feel about them. When I read this back in '07, even though I praised it highly, my feelings were just how unpleasant everything was. So I went into this with some trepidation, wondering how it would be. I really shouldn't have worried as it turned out. I enjoyed the daylights out of this read.

Ominous, that is probably the best word to describe the tone for this book. The setting of winter and the Cold and the Wild Hunt and the Fairy Queen and Nial Lynn (the cruel grandfather who set this all off) and even such mundane things as roses and thorns just give out vibes of ominosity (I love making up words that aren't real, at least in my reviews). In the hands of someone else that all might have been extremely depressing, but in McKillip's hands, the lyrical words swept me along and brought me back into the spring and the sunlight.

The thing that stopped me from bumping this up all the way to a full 5star rating was the whole thing with Corbet and Laurel. While it was explained and made part of the story, I wish there had been another way. I don't like reading about infidelity, even if it's only emotional and all because of magic.

Other than that, this was a perfect book. I think when I read it again, some time in the future, I'll try to read it mid-summer and not in the middle of a bleak New England winter.

Kinuko Craft does the cover again and I have to admit, it is probably one of my least favorites by her. Most of that is because of my dislike of the Fairy Queen in this story and since she's THE cover, it just makes me go “blah”. But when you look at the full piece of art by Craft, you can just see what a gorgeous work this is. It goes hand in hand with the book and fully complements it.

★★★★½

• Winter Rose (2007 Review)

Terrible Master Urd (Oh My Goddess! #6) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Terrible Master Urd
Series: Oh My Goddess! #6
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 140
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

The first full book plot. Mara is trying to awaken the Lord of Terror and it is revealed that Urd is his heir. She's had her goddess license suspended for constantly lying and so is wide open to the temptation to take power whereever it may come from. LoT (Lord of Terror) possesses Urd and is on the way to destroying the whole universe. Keiichi gets captured and then accidently reveals that there is a master Total Destruction program. This allows Urd to release the wolf Fenrir and the LoT then jumps from Urd to Fenrir.

Fenrir/LoT then summons the Cosmic String (string theory plays a rather large part of this plot) and is going to cut it and so destroy the universe. Only he needs a goddess made 10 Dimensional scythe to do so. So the LoT jumps from Fenrir to Kei, as he knows that the 3 goddess will make one of those handy dandy 10D scythes to separate him from Kei's body. Belldandy disobeys 'daddy', ie The Lord and releases her seal, making her “Nigh Invulnerable!” (if you don't get the Tick reference, go read ben edlund's graphic novels).

The 3 goddesses trick LoT to jumping into a computer disk, hence freeing Kei and stopping the threat of the end of the universe. Skuld then wipes the disk clean with a magnet thus removing the threat of the LoT for good. The whole Yggrasil system is out of whack though, so there will be consequences. The book ends with Belldandy revealing that she is staying with Kei becomes she loves him and not because of the contract.

My Thoughts:

This was just ridiculous. 15 years ago I could read, accept and enjoy such ridiculousness with ease. It slid down my throat like a bite of chicken finger dipped in sweet&sour with some vegetable fried rice on top. Mmmmm! However, while I still really like said food concoction, the same can't be said for the shenanigans pulled here.

This was the first time that the manga-ka goes from a chapter by chapter story to an overarching plot and his lack of experience really shows. Things “just happen because” and they make zero sense. The revelation about Urd being part demon? I've been under the assumption that the Lord was the father of all 3 of the goddesses but with this revelation, does this mean that god sleeps around? Or is the Lord not actually god but just a super powerful angelic being? Fujishima just pulls explanations out of a hat to suit where he wants the story to go without thinking through the consequences of those explanations.

This was definitely slapstick humor. One thing I did laugh about was when LoT takes over Kei he, the LoT, threatens to hurt Kei by hitting himself on the head with a hammer. Now that is funny! The rest of it though, it kind of flew by me and made me go “huh” instead of laughing.

I know I've complained a lot here but this wasn't a bad volume, it was just a very juvenile volume. I do have to admit though that my heart kind of sank when I was done with this volume and I realized I had 42 more volumes to go.

On to the artwork! Here we get Keiichi possessed by the Lord of Terror. Goth Kei! His “look” and how the LoT used him was probably what saved this volume from a blasé 3star rating. I mean, look at him! Hahahahahaa.

★★★☆½

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

All's Well that Ends Well ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: All's Well that Ends Well
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play
Pages: 226
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A young woman, Helena, the daughter of a famous doctor now deceased, has been taken under wing by the noble family Rousillon. She falls in love with the family heir, Bertram but knows her commoner status will prevent her from ever marrying Bertram. Helena remembers a secret formula that her father gave to her and uses it to cure the King of France (Boo!) who in turn pretty much grants her one wish. She chooses to marry Bertram and the King makes it so.

Bertram chooses to go to war to avoid his bride and falls in lust with a young lady where he is stationed. Helena tracks him down and tells her tale to the young lady. Shenanigans ensue and Bertram woos and beds his wife thinking it's his paramour.

The young lady, under the direction of Helena, goes to the king to get justice and Bertram acts like a complete loser and denies everything. Helena jumps out of the closet with a secret ring and pregnant and claims Bertram as her own. Bertram is so overcome by his wife's cleverness and determination that he falls in love with her.

The End.

My Thoughts:

I am guessing this was supposed to be one of Shakespeare's comedies. Lots of clever wordplay where people make fun of each other and ham it up to the audience. However, I hated Bertram so half the play was a bust for me. He was just a jerk. The ending was as much a hollywood blockbuster ending as you could wish for, ie, everything gets resolved even if it makes no sense whatsoever.

It did take me a little while to get into the cadence of the reading this as a play and not as a novel. I also had to really slow down and think about what I was reading because how it was presented was not what I am used to. It is always a good thing to slow the reading down and not devour it like I am in a hotdog eating contest.

Overall, I am pleased at this start to my reading of the Complete Shakespeare.

★★★☆☆ 

Sympathy for the Devil (Oh My Goddess! #5) ★★★★☆ (Manga Monday)

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Sympathy for the Devil
Series: Oh My Goddess! #5
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 160
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

Mara causes a lot of ruckus trying to divide up Belldandy and Kei and in the process it is revealed that Mara is a demoness.

Bell and Urd's little sister Skuld comes to fix some bugs and Kei is almost sucked into another dimension while hijinks ensue.

Other hijinks, involving Megumi, the Motor Club, Sayoko and Aoshima, happen and laughs are called for by the audience.

My Thoughts:

It is really being brought home to me that this is a comedic, episodic manga. It is nothing like Eyeshield 21 and I need to stop expecting something inspiring. This is for laughs and 3 Stooges style of humor, ie, poking of eyes, hitting with hammers, etc.

One thing that did make me smile pretty good was the fact that Urd is put to sleep by Polka music and that's used against her by Mara. At the same time, Mara has to dance if she hears Disco, and Urd uses that against her! Speaking of Mara, I don't understand why the “mystery” of her gender until now? It was good for one gag, and that was it.

With the introduction of Skuld, we now have the 3 Norns and the author can play around with Norse mythology interwoven into modern Japanese culture all he wants. Urd and Skuld fight a lot and if that continues, it will get old very fast. Skuld is young and impetuous and very much a “little sister” figure, which makes me wonder just what part Megumi, Kei's younger sister, is going to end up playing.

Most of the stories were much more focused on Bell, Urd and Kei this time around instead of having them mixing with all 72 other side characters.

The cuteness factor continues to ramp up, especially when you get multiple chibi versions of BOTH Belldandy and Urd!

This felt like a very busy volume yet beyond the introduction of Skuld, not much actually happens. Fujishima the author really doesn't seem to have an overarching story and is just playing it by ear week to week ie, chapter by chapter. When that is done right, like with Yotsuba!&, it is fantastic. Here, it is walking the line of feeling frenetic and slightly directionless.

★★★★☆ 

• Previous Oh My Goddess! Reviews

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Series: ----------
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 242
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Sybel is the grand-daughter or great grand-daughter of a nameless mage. She has inherited the power to control things by naming them. She has no bigger ambition than to call the Lyralen.

Until one day a knight drops off a baby boy in her lap and rides away. As the boy grows, Sybel's heart grows and she comes to love Tamlorn as her own. But Tamlorn is the son of a king and the king, one Drede, comes looking for him. Tamlorn was given to Sybel by Drede's enemies, the house of Sirle. Once Tam realizes he has a father, he goes to live with him and Sybel tells Drede that she has no interest in the war between him and Sirle.

Then the knight comes back, one Coren. He wins Sybel's heart and manages to give up his hate of Drede and all that he has done. Drede, afraid of Sybel's power and not believing she won't use it against him, buys the service of another wizard who will take Sybel's name, break her will and make her a willing, loving puppet for Drede to marry. Sybel escapes and tells Coren's brothers that she will use her power for them against Drede, wthout telling Coren what happened to her or why she is suddenly fighting against Drede.

In a fit of remorse, Sybel frees all her magical animals who were to lead the attack against Drede and she flees back to her home in the mountains, convinced that Coren can no longer love her and that Tam can no longer love her since she orchestrated the attack on his father Drede.

It ends with things not turning out at all like Sybel imagined, as her animals do their thing and Tamlorn becomes king without bloodshed. She and Corin are re-united and he teaches her the lesson of love.

My Thoughts:

This was the first McKillip book that I would say had a real edge to it, some bite. It takes some uncomfortable subject matters and deals with them specifically but non-graphically.

Sybel's forebearers all took their mates by force. They used the power of naming to call and control them. Sybel gets a taste of this very thing when the wizard takes control of her. It wasn't just attempted, or in the case of her ancestors, actual, rape, but also the complete loss of self within the mind. It was the rape of body AND mind and McKillip doesn't shy away from showing how it affects people.

She then goes on to show how Sybel reacts in some really bad ways, such as erasing her husband Corin's memories of what he sees when he catches her plotting with his brothers for war. She violates him just like she was violated and it destroys hers inside. So much that she tries to lose herself at the end of the book by calling the Lyralen.

And yet, at the very end when Corin AND Tam come to her and show her the power of real love, it redeems it all. I think that was what this book was all about. Just how strong love is and just what it can conquer.

I love a Love Conquers All story and this was that in spades.

When I read this back in '07, looking at my rating and review, I can tell I wasn't really impressed back then. But a decade more of life experience, being married and some down and dirty church politics has shown me that yes, Love is the be all and end all. Being a Christian helps narrow down what Love actually is and I'm even more convinced today than I was 10 years ago of just how much God loves His creation.

I'll end this like I began it. This has an edge and a bite that most of McKillip's other books don't. If it bothers you, try some of her others. If you like it, don't expect it to be there.

★★★★☆ 

• The Forgotten Beasts of Eld 2007 Review

Love Potion #9 (Oh My Goddess #4) ★★★★☆ (Manga)

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Love Potion #9

Series: Oh My Goddess #4

Author: Kosuke Fujishima

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: Manga

Pages: 117

Format: Paper Edition

Synopsis:

Sayoko and her cousin Aoshima continue their scheming to break up Bell and Kei so that they can have their respective picks. Of course, with Urd running interference and Bell's love of Kei, things never turn out for the dastardly duo like they had planned.

There are also several instances of completely ridiculous things being overlooked and ignored. How do you bulldoze a clubhouse that is also a mechanics garage, overnight and have NO repercussions? You really have to enter the spirit of the manga, ie, campy and silly and just flow with it.

The other major plot point is the introduction of Mara, demon first class. While a very androgynous looking fellow, Mara is indeed a fellow. Somehow he's tied to a Demon music cd and he ends up in cahoots with Sayoko, promising to get rid of Bell so Sayoko can be Queen of the Campus and have Kei all to herself.

While Mara is foiled at every point, he's not banished and it's obvious he's here to stay and cause nothing but problems.Yet another recurring character. The character list is really starting to grow.

My Thoughts:

Every chapter was once again a single episodic adventure. Now, most of them revolved around various schemes by Sayoko and Aoshima so the whole book kind of felt more like a romantic comedy than anything.

I can't really remember what part Mara ends up playing in future volumes, but I think he's the beginning of the multi-volume story arc. It's also our first introduction to the opposite of Belldandy's family. Fujishima is obviously thinking ahead and planning on opening up this world for a full on experience. Having extra powerful beings, on opposite sides of the moral spectrum, is the obvious way to go.

Urd is involved, but not nearly so much as in the previous book. She really is eye candy and comedic relief. The funny thing is, she “represents” eye candy more than she actually is. That makes for a surprisingly clean “smexy” fun drawings without going anywhere near smut. Of course, this is still male driven fantasy, so you get little bits like this. And how cute is a mini-Urd anyway?

Now on a different note. I am reading the original Darkhorse release manga. I am finding that the chapters are out of order in regards to the original intent and that that has been rectified with the re-release of the OMG manga in it's original numbered format. Not that I'm going to go out and suddenly buy volumes 1-20 just to be a completist but I am realizing that I'd recommend people start with the new numbered versions and not these “Titled” Darkhorse editions.

★★★★☆ 

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