that had me grinning with glee when I turned the final page. Funny, thrilling, and surprisingly poignant at times, this was a very pleasant read.
and has him take on a number of dangerous assignments, so that he can save up enough money to buy his freedom. In true Isaka fashion, the book is packed with action and dark humor, and the seemingly disconnected episodes come together in a beautiful twist and a satisfying resolution (cont.)
February: AX (published in English as The Mantis) by Kotaro Isaka
Now THIS is a book with a plot. AX is the tale of a hitman known only as Kabuto ("Helmet"), who wants out of the game so he can live a normal life with his wife and teenage son. His employer, however, refuses to let him go (cont.)
In short, the book had some great vibes, intriguing worldbuilding, wonderfully inventive prose, and compelling characters in Yoshiro and Mumei... but that's about it. Don't expect an epic adventure or big resolution to what little plot there is. It's not that kind of book.
giving way, at least in the Japanese edition, to a completely unrelated story (that's right, folks, the book is not a novel but a short story collection! surprise!), which I didn't even bother to finish because it felt more like the author showing off how her cleverness than telling a story. (cont.)
In terms of plot, uh... Well, it doesn't go very far, and I found myself wanting more. The whole story feels like a drawn-out first act of a greater drama that never truly begins. Instead (at least in the Japanese edition), it simply ends just when it seems something is about to happen (cont.),
insular communities of prefabricated barracks clustered around the highways surrounding the major cities. There's a lot going on in terms of worldbuilding, particularly with regards to changes in the language, which I found quite interesting (and would have been a nightmare to translate!) (cont.)
the culture, and the language have changed in the wake of Japan's isolating itself from the outside world to work out its problems. Resources are scarce, the environment is contaminated, the internet is gone, foreign loan words are banned, and society has disintegrated into (cont.)
January: 献灯使 (The Emissary) by Yoko Tawada.
A literary novel about a dystopian Japan, where the elderly live forever and the children are born sickly and frail. Yoshiro devotes himself to caring for his great-grandson Mumei (lit. "Nameless"), while ruminating on how the country (cont.)
This is a bit overdue, but this year I made the resolution to brush up my Japanese by reading one book per month. I'll post them in this thread as I finish each one (*looks sternly at future self*), starting off right away with the books I read in January and February.
"Gloomy" is close enough, methinks.
The darkness within caught her by surprise. By contrast to the well-lit, lavish corridor, the gloomy playroom looked like a cavern.
#WIPSnips
Bo bleis!
“They caught us by surprise,” Oda said. “In a fair fight, we would have obliterated them. But only a fool would fight fair against me. I must commend them for their cunning, at the very least.”
#WIPSnips
If you see this, post a vampire that isn't Dracula.
Disaster strikes once again!
#Writingcommunity #readingcommunity #indieauthors
No snippets for the next couple of days, as I'll be visiting family in Yokohama.
Each row represents a period of my life, from top to bottom:
Childhood/Elementary school
Middle school
High School
University
Adulthood
Not complete, and not always age-appropriate, but it's been a great ride so far.
“You all right over there, girl?” The soldier had slowed down to a brisk walk, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “Let’s stop this silly chase. You know you can’t escape, and even if you could, where would you go?”
#WIPSnips
It was strange to imagine that merely one of the little red tubes, so small it could fit within her palm, contained enough power to destroy a man beyond recognition.
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Now I'm even more interested...
Bruh, why?
This reminded me that I've had The Silver Case on my hard drive for over a decade and still haven't gotten around to playing it.
Page 97 is "the page" in my WIP. This is all you get for now, I'm afraid.
Fighting games are amazing, especially this one:
The only ones I can think of off the cuff are Asura's Wrath and Fallout 3 (kind of), both of which are pretty old at this point. Then again, I am laughably out of touch when it comes to more recent games.
“You know who I am,” he said to the innkeeper, who trembled behind his counter. “My retinue will lodge here for the night, and you will serve us your finest food. You will also prepare a private room for these three ladies, and see that they get anything they ask for. Understood?”
#WIPSnips
Look at that little Shuriken. Bro thinks he's on the team😆
Hell yeah! Defect power spam is great.
The Orb god demands moar orbs!
The mother made no reply, which was not unusual. Most mothers were speechless after giving birth—too exhausted, overwhelmed, or dead to speak. But there was one thing she must hear.
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