Manga Review: Parasyte

Seinen: Parasyte
Mangaka: Iwaaki Hitoshi
Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Mature, Psychological, Romance, Sci-fi, Seinen
Rating: 10/10

Summary [from mangaupdates.com]: They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade - and take control of - a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret - except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?

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There are perhaps only 2 or 3 horror mangas I've read since I started my obsession with manga, and I never finished them because I'm not a big fan of horror mangas. However, this one is something everybody should read. The art wasn't thrilling at first, but I got used to it as I read into the deep plot and interesting turn of events. The art is suitable for the story itself - it's not all that perfect nor realistic in some scenes, but it gets better during the really horrific scenes where the action and killings happen.

The character development is pretty amazing, and the relationship between the two main characters progresses as the story goes on. The pace is quick, it gets right to the point. The parasite idea is something I've encountered in books and such, so it's not surprisingly creative. But the author does take the suspense and character expression to the next level. Even thought it's really all about the horror and tragedy, it gets really comedic at parts and opens your mind to how you view things.

The way the parasites transform is kind of disgusting, then again, you'll encounter a lot of disgusting and pretty awful things as you read on, but you won't be able to put it down for some reason. I really like this manga.

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie

Book Review: The Vampire Diaries Vol.1-2

Fiction: The Vampire Diaries Vol.1-2-The awakening and The struggle
Author: L.J Smith
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Romance, YA
Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: [taken from Barnesandnobles.com]

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.
Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.
Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her. Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.
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L.J Smith's approach to the vampire theory is mysterious and intriguing. Yet the whole making of the characters, their descriptions, their feelings for each other weren't exactly translated into words very well. The summary (see above) seems like it's a book worth reading, but when you read the book, you'll find that it's nothing special. Well, at least that's how I saw it.

A lot of people were comparing this to amazing well-written stories like Twilight or the Sookie Stackhouse Series, so I assumed it would be good. The story starts out strong but then falls apart when the characters realize their own feelings for each other. The plot was way too rushed and the author didn't spend enough time in deciding the characters' feelings for each other - to wring out some emotion from the readers. Elena instantly falls in love with Stefan and the way she wants to grab his attention seems kind of forced and desperate (as opposed to the introduced character). I didn't like her at all - her character development wasn't as strong and descriptive as I wanted it to be.

On the other hand, Stefan was your average good-looking vampire boy who tries to blend in but doesn't. He transfers to the school and instantly notices how Elena looks like the girl he loved in his past. That right there ruined it for me completely. It seemed like he didn't get over the first girl at all; he was falling for Elena was because of her looks despite Elena having the exact opposite personality from the girl he loved in the past.

My expectations for this story weren't met, but I enjoyed the [petty drama] of two vampire brothers fighting for the same girl and trying to win her over. Overall, it was an almost good-read if it weren't for the quick description of the characters, and their desperate attempts at finding love in each other.

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie

Book Review: Psyche in a Dress [Needs Editing]

Fiction: Psyche in a Dress
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 10/10

Summary: [taken from barnesandnobles.com]

But this is what I could not give up:

I could not give up myself
Psyche has known Love—scented with jasmine and tasting of fresh oranges. Yet he is fleeting and fragile, lost to her too quickly. Punished by self-doubt, Psyche yearns to be transformed, like the beautiful and brutal figures in the myths her lover once spoke of. Attempting to uncover beauty in the darkness, she is challenged, tested, and changed by the gods and demons who tempt her. Her faith must be found again, for if she is to love, she must never look back.

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This is..
Only the most deep and astounding story there is. There is not a single word that can describe how beautifully written this story in form of prose is.

Francesca Lia Block writes about a young girl named Psyche who had found love in her childhood but in an instant she lost it. As time goes by, she grows and becomes a women. She then tries to fall in love again by meeting various man, only to realize that her one and true love will always be that man from when she was a little girl. Through all the struggles she goes through, she realizes that she's playing all the stories her lost love had told her when she was little, she realizes that she will not ever find anybody to love more than that man.
The way this book was written was amazingly deep and cunning, by fusing stories from Greek mythology, Francesca Lia Block paints a world filled with wonder and realism through the use of deep and expressing words which will leave you with a deep understanding of how much pain and suffering the character is going through. The story narrates through out Psyche's whole life as a women and a mother, and then at the end it leaves you wanting for more..
This book is poetry itself along with powerful and beautifully well written prose, you will re-read it again.
This book is raw literature itself. With a deep understanding of even the simplest things, it makes for a great and unique read. Honestly, I took my time reading this, for this makes you forget everything around you since the descriptions were so explained in detailed, you could actually see what was happening and for a moment, you can almost imagine the world Psyche belongs to.
Truly a deep and amazing read. For a mature audience. This book is a memorable one that will always stay in my mind as one of the most unique and amazing stories I've ever reading. There is not a single word that can describe such masterpiece.

Eli.

Book Review: Ink Exchange [needs editing]

Fiction: Ink Exchange
Author: Melissa Marr
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Drama
Rating: 7/10

Summary [Taken from: Harpercollins.com]: Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.
Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.
The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

I'm one of those people who judge books by their cover, but luckily I don't do the same for people.
This book should be put at the top of the list for it's amazing and captivating cover, unfortunately I can't say the same thing for the story itself.

I managed to painfully finish it and I was glad to get rid of it. The story itself was a little hard to follow since you had to remember a lot of names and I mean a lot but I managed to somewhat understand what the hell was happening.
First, the characters were well written and somehow captivating. Second, there were various plots to follow altogether, evil mothers, evil fairies with a lot of power, Irial's true love was dying and Leslie is being forced into marrying the summer king-Irial- in order to restore peace in the fairy world. As describe in the story, the fairies are really good looking creatures so of course all the girls were dying to be with Irial except Leslie since she was already in love with another guy.
The romance was constant since there were a lot of love triangles. The story was pretty good but the thing that just threw it off was the useless scenes that weren't needed, a lot of useless details and just continuous talk that just wasted my time.

Overall, it was an almost-great read. If you like fairies and just constant fantasy, then this is the book for you.

Eli.