Blame!, Vol. 10 by Tsutomu Nihei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wild, mythical, strange, and hauntingly beautiful.

And let's not forget--unutterably sad.


This manga flies in the face of most manga. It's unapologetically dense and forces you to speculate just to keep up with the action, but more than that, it's transcendental. Lovecraftian, H.R. Geigerish, totally cyberpunk in every sense of the term, but also a pure Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came feel. Only, unlike King's version, this is a true dark tower for the whole series and it does just about all those feelings JUSTICE.

To be fair, it's also extremely minimalistic. Nobody will ever explain much of anything. But out of the hints and the things we do get, it's powerful.

I think I might consider this one of my favorites. Not because it's universally accessible (it isn't) but because it's awesomely brave.

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Blame!, Vol. 9 by Tsutomu Nihei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And now I'm getting the DISTINCT feeling I got in the later parts of Nier Automata. It's a very unique feeling. And now that I'm reading Blame! this way, I'm really respecting it a lot more because it came out first. Or perhaps I respect Nier more for how it really ran with aspects of Blame!?

I don't know. Blame! goes rather hard and a lot farther in some ways. It's very impressive, either way.

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Blame!, Vol. 8 by Tsutomu Nihei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't say I understand what's going on--still--but damn it's interesting. And Cibo? Not just three or four times am I going WTF, but it's definitely intensifying now.

Head scientist my ass.

Hackers nightmare. Or dream.

Weirdly, I'm reading all this and getting massive Hellsing vibes now. That's a good thing. An amazing thing.

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Blame!, Vol. 7 by Tsutomu Nihei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New character, new wrinkle, but it only deepens the story.

Those damn human genes are a real nasty piece of work. Everyone seems to want them. :)

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Out Law by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Classic Harry. Being a good sort. Being himself.

Helping low-lifes who're getting scared straight, paying back Marcone, defeating whole crime syndicates and ancient demons--almost by accident.

Yep. Classic Harry.

And this is just an encore's encore.

Very fun. Top form.

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Against All Enemies by John G. Hemry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perfectly in line with the other books in this series. Bad things happen, some people get pinned for the deed, and we're indulged with the procedure to sus it out and resolve it.

And yet, it's pretty much always entertaining.

Now, is it just me, or wasn't there enough of an audience to continue this particular series? I find myself wanting to know what happens on Mars, or if Paul joins the JAGs, or if he joins the crew of the ballbuster. There ARE open questions here. And while this just barely qualifies for SF, I can't deny I'm invested in our little idealist junior officer.



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Blame!, Vol. 6 by Tsutomu Nihei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love how complicated and wild this is. How it forces us to decipher the future. It's alien, sure, but its rules are fathomable with a little patience and interest.

It doesn't hand-hold anyone. I really miss this kind of literature.

Plus, it's freaking insane. I'm sure an acid trip would be less nuts. :)

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