Time for the usual daily #anime#manga#DecRecs, and today I'm gonna rec Pandora Hearts by Mochizuki Jun.
Japan loves Alice in the Wonderland, and this is another tale with a twist on it. Our main character, Oz Vesalius, was told that his entire existence was a sin during his coming of age ceremony and was banished into the Abyss where creatures called Chains exist. He meets Alice, one of the Chains in the Abyss, made a contract with her to help her regain her lost memories and then together they bust out of the Abyss into the surface/normal world and found out that ten years have passed.
It's very hard to describe the plot... But the series starts off immediately intriguing, and there are lots of mysteries to unfold. Also, there are lots of heartaches and paaain... But the ending is satisfying, imo. And the art is very pretty.
I'd recommend not watching the anime until after you read the manga because the anime is not great (please, someone, readapt it) but the music is great (well, it's Yuki Kajiura) and the cast is A+.
For #DecRecs 18, allow me to DecRecommend Ed Yong's book 'An Immense World', which is a fascinating exploration of how animals perceive the world, and what sensory perception is, anyway. I picked it up a year and a half ago, because I LOVED 'I Contain Multitudes' and respect Yong's work as a scientific journalist enormously. But I've never cracked it until now, and I don't even regret delaying, because now it means I get to enjoy his work over this break!
Happy #DecRecs 17, my friends! Today's recommendation is 'Scales and Sensibility', by Stephanie Burgis, a delightful regency romp with magic, imposters, romance, and of course dragons. Incontinent dragons.
Today's recommendation is the Raven, Fisher, and Simpson series, by Ambrose Parry. Set in 19th century Edinburgh, it follows the crime-solving adventurers of a medical apprentice and a housemaid, both of whom work in the household of Dr James Simpson, a real historical obstetrician who also discovered chloroform.
Very well researched, well-written, atmospheric books. Start with 'The Way of All Flesh'.
I haven't finished The Virtu yet, so today's entry in #DecRecs is Labyrinth's Heart, book 3 of the Rook and Rose trilogy by M. A. Carrick (half of whom is @swan_tower )
Oh, you haven't read the first two? Lucky! You get to read all three for the first time! The only thing I so much as reading that trilogy for the first time was re-reading books 1 and 2 in preparation for book 3 when it dropped this year.
Time for today's #anime#DecRecs! The theme is death games (voice actor bias edition):
Death Parade
Description: After death, there is judgment, which takes place in a bar. Recently dead people arrives at this bar to play dangerous games against each other to earn a chance at reincarnation, or be doomed to damnation. Through these games, their nature is revealed and their recent past and relationship with each other unfolds. The people who "work" there are called Arbiters, and their job is to judge these games.
This has my favourite Maeno Tomoaki voice type. Deep. DEEP! It's eargasm (for me, I hope for you too) to listen to him talk. Also, the op theme is such a banger with a very fun video!
Deadman Wonderland
Description: Ganta is thrown into a for-profit prison where the prisoners are made to play extremely dangerous games to earn points to exchange for an antidote they have to take regularly to counteract the poison from a collar placed on them. Losing games also may mean losing parts of yourself (literal organs). He must somehow try to survive and at the same time, find out more about this mysterious person in red who was present during the murder of his entire class that he was framed for.
I do like death games, but to be honest, I am biased because this anime has a memorable Ono Daisuke character. So tragic, so beautiful. I love him and also his crazy obsessive stalker prison guard (Morikawa Toshiyuki).
I started Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette)'s 'Melusine' yesterday, stayed up late reading, and got up early to finish it this morning. I was utterly engrossed. Enthralled. Captivated.
I also read several 1* reviews on Goodreads and, to be honest, I kind of agree with them all.
I still bought the other three in the series, though.
#DecRecs No.8 is 'Just Like Home', by Sarah Gailey. A woman goes home to look after her mother in her last days. Dark secrets in the woman's past surround something horrible that her father did (no, nothing sexual, relax). Her house, built by her father, is really super creepy. True-crime loving weirdos swarm all over it. But sometimes we must love monsters, no matter how monsterous they are. What is a monster, anyway?
Good morning! On this day, The Fifth of #DecRecs, allow me to suggest The Library of the Dead, by T. L. Huchu.
Set in parallel modern-day Edinburgh, where magic is part of life, living cheek-by-jowel with iphones and podcasts, and serves as yet another domain in which societal iniquities can play out. This version of Scotland is in rough shape, following vague Catastrophes, and young Ropa is just trying to look after her sister and gran, and kick ass.
The thing I like so much about #DecRecs looking back over all the terrific books I read over the past year.
Today's DecRec is 'How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse', by K. Eason.
Imagine that the fairy tale fantasy land of fairies granting wishes at christenings, and magic and alchemy, moved forward in time and developed spaceships and interplanetary trade alliances. This is that. Quirky and fun, with a dry wit and terrific characters.
Happy 2nd day of #DecRecs to those who celebrate! Today's recommendation is 'Even Though I Knew The End', by C. L. Polk. A thoughtful, wistful Chicago noir about a supernatural detective making deals with demons to sell (or redeem) her soul. Wonderful setting, clothes, mood, vibes; and a bittersweet approach to demon bargains that feels more real, somehow, than more traditional tales of this nature.