Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 3

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 3 by Yu Aida

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I miss Henrietta and the rest of the original crew. This is turning into a love story between cyborgs and humans.

I want cute killers.



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Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 4

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 4 by Yu Aida

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was good, sad, happy, fulfilling and chock full of pathos.

First we get to see Angelica, the first of the 1st gens, as she just wears out. We see her past and how she passes and what it means to Marco.
On a side note, I finally realized in this omnibus that the black pages indicate a sequence occurring in the past. Only 4 omnibus editions for me to catch on. Good thing I'm not a handler, eh?

Then we move on to Triela. After Henrietta, Triela is my next favorite 'Girl'. I just find shotguns and long hair so cool.
We see her struggles as she processes what Angelica's death means, to her personally and to the group of 1st gen's.
We also get to see her handler not being a total dick. Good for him to be treating her like a human.

Smaller notes:
1) We see a group of 2nd gens. Therefore we know Petra isn't the only one now.
2) An ultimatum is made by Padania, which indicates a major ramping up of the organization for a final push.
3) The gov't recognizes the Padania could be wiped out quickly and that the Welfare Agency would no longer be needed. Aida is setting up closure on all fronts. Which is good because that means there is a definite end.



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Review: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Each Narnia book gets better and better. In this case we are introduced to Eustace Scrubb, a thoroughly unpleasant cousin of Edmond and Lucy.

They all go to Narnia, have adventures with Caspian and then go back to England.

I find it amazing how simple and concise these stories are and yet just how engaging and wonderful at the same time. I would find myself thinking "Well, what if..., or How would this..." and I would have to pull myself back and remember that Lewis was writing this primarily for children.

And yet I was never bored, nor did I ever roll my eyes at a simplification. This was great writing. And it really shows.



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Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 2

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 2 by Yu Aida

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The latter half of this omnibus deals with the next generation of cyborgs. This girl is a bit older [16] and has all the problems that go along with that.

One thing I did NOT like was the "adult'ation" of Triela in a couple of chapters. It was extremely disburbing, even though nothing disturbing happened.

The exploitation of the girls really came across in this set. The story is no longer confined to prepubescent girls who have crushes on their handlers.



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Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 1

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 1 by Yu Aida

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I gave this my "Disturbing" tag, but the Manga-ka meant this series to BE disturbing.

Young, broken girls are rehabilitated as cyborg assassins for the Italian government. They are rebuilt, "conditioned" and then paired with an adult male handler and sent on a variety of missions.

This series focuses on the fact that they are still little girls with all the emotions and foibles that go along with that.

Some chapters were action packed, others were funny, others a slice of life. They all blended into one great tapestry of terrorism, counter-terrorism and emotions.



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Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A good story, but not much of Holmes at all. I think that the Holmes' stories should be read in order, as they do build on each other, even if in very small increments.

Get to see Watson on his own, and not liking it.



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Review: Beyond The Veil

Beyond The Veil by Janet E. Morris

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



It was obvious from the story that there was a bit of story missing. Turns out this was a second book.
It was not indicated in the title in any way.

But it wasn't even engaging. I enjoyed the first Thieves' World book of short stories, but this, this was just plain old boring D&D.



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Review: Star Wars: Scoundrels

Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A good non-jedi romp with some good old friends. Sadly, Chewbacca doesn't get much action, but he IS there.

Several times it was mentioned how Han had had the reward from [b:Star Wars: A New Hope|599090|Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (Star Wars, #4)|George Lucas|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1349016127s/599090.jpg|123227] stolen from him. Either I missed something in some other novel, or Zahn is setting up info for future novels.



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Review: The Frog Princess

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



My wife read the whole series and compared them to [a:Patricia C. Wrede|36122|Patricia C. Wrede|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1215652809p2/36122.jpg] and her [b:The Enchanted Forest Chronicles|86238|The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1-4)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328875611s/86238.jpg|164046] series.

A young princess kisses an enchanted frog and turns into one herself. All about her adventures with Frog Boy as they try to turn back in Prince and Princess.



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Review: Times of Trouble

Times of Trouble by Russell Blackford

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This series was convoluted and while it explored what time travel could mean, it seemed like there was more "puttering around" than kick-ass action.

Not as engaging as the T2 series by [a:S.M. Stirling|14002|S.M. Stirling|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1311578420p2/14002.jpg].

A good read, but it was NOT a "grab you by the throat and shake you until your teeth rattle" thriller.



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