Apothecarius Argentum

Apothecarius Argentum

By Tomomi Yamashita

Argent is a former slave, once the poison tester for the royal family. Over the years, he has developed an immunity to poisons, and has trained to become a master chemist able to cure any illness. Unfortunately, his very skin has become toxic, making it impossible for others to touch him. Which is quite sad actually, for Princess Primula, who’s life has been threatened once again by assassins, resulting in Argent’s recall to the kingdom to protect her.

There’s lots of story to spin out into further volumes, and it will be interesting to follow these two characters in a larger story arc. Argent is reclusive for several reasons, and his caution in the royal palace may be well warranted. Primula is a head-strong, courageous, though somewhat impulsive princess, who has yet to use her strength developed in training in the real world.

The drawing is good, very character based though, without the richly detailed backgrounds of other series. And there’s a bit of a mismatch in the dialogue, an unsuccessful attempt to mix romanticized medieval speech styles with contemporary language. But overall, it’s a manga full of potential, worth following up on future volumes.

Ancient Appetites

Ancient Appetites

By Oisin McGann

A really enjoyable story, with interesting characters, a sharp plot, and inventive fantasy elements.

Nate Wildenstern has enjoyed a life of privilege and extreme wealth. His family is ruled efficiently and ruthlessly by his father, as well as by a system of dark traditions - such as the Rules of Ascension, which determine how and when it is ok to murder a family member to improve your position as the next Heir.

All is going well for Nate, until his older brother Marcus is killed. Nate is forced back into the business-side of the family empire, he is accused of his brother’s murder, and he must forge new relationships with his remaining siblings and their partners. The major themes of family, grief, betrayal, murder and revenge are all well explored.

An atmospheric setting, strange creatures called engimals, and the reappearance of some ancient Wildenstern ancestors, all work to make this story quite an adventure.

The Tarot Cafe

The Tarot Café

By Sang-Sun Park

Pamela runs the Tarot Café, where she uses her Tarot deck to help guide those who seek her counsel. Her clients include vampires and fairies, and other fantastical creatures, such as a Wish-fulfilling Cat. Each comes to Pamela for help, with Pamela’s cards assisting to prompt more information, and to reveal hidden truths and wisdom.

There’s beautiful artwork here, with lots of gorgeously drawn characters, and detailed attention to costumes and backgrounds. The first volume has four episodes, each self-contained, though with Pamela’s continuing story linking them. The tarot cards are lovely, and are accompanied by little snippets of explanation so their relevance to the story is transparent.

A fun, dramatic and romantic manga series, with wonderful artwork.

The Last of the High Kings

The Last of the High Kings

By Kate Thompson

Although this book is a sequel to Thompson’s award winning novel The New Policeman, it can just as easily be read as a stand-alone story. It’s a fabulous mix of Irish folklore, Celtic mythology, and faerie tales, as well as more contemporary issues such as environmentalism and the importance of family and social connections.

Jenny is eleven years old, and would rather wander the Irish hillsides, talking with a ghost and a puca, than attend her classes at school. She seems out-of-place with her family, feels disconnected from the everyday humdrum, and must work hard to understand her connection to the legendary world of Tir na n’Og.

Though the themes and characters are complex, the story unfolds with ease, helped along by lovely language, witty dialogue, and lots of humour. Highly recommended!

Scrapped Princess

Scrapped Princess

Volume 1 – A Tale of destiny
Volume 2 – Song of the forgiven

By Ichiro Sakaki

These are the novels that inspired the Scrapped Princess anime series. There are 14 Volumes planned.

Fourteen years ago, in the kingdom of Linevan, the queen gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl. However, a prophecy foretold that the girl would, on her 16th birthday, destroy the world, and therefore should be executed immediately. Heartbroken, the queen could not kill her daughter, but instead arranged for her to be adopted by local friends.

Pacifica grows up with her new siblings, Shannon and Raquel, unaware of her true fate. However, when it is revealed that she is the Scrapped Princess, the trio decide to avenge the murder of their father and to test the truth of the prophecy. Fast-paced adventure and action ensues, as the three journey across the kingdom, hunted by fierce warriors intent on killing the Princess before she destroys their world.

A fun series, though a bit slow in some spots, and clearly missing the visual details of the manga and anime. An interesting blend of a manga and a novel – it’s more an illustrated novel really - with several manga-style illustrations.

City of Bones

City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

This is the first in a planned trilogy – the series title The Mortal Instruments referring to three magical items that can grant power over life and death.

Clary Fray is a normal teenager in every way, until she realizes that she can see things that others around her cannot. As she begins her journey to reclaiming the heritage that has been denied to her, her view of the world expands to include the existence of demons, vampires, werewolves and Shadowhunters. Clary’s clueless-but-loveable friend, Simon, gets caught up in her adventures; and she meets the brooding-and-mysterious Jace, who is adored by his brother-in-all-but-name Alec; and Alec’s gorgeously-beautiful-but-tough-as-nails sister Isabelle.

It is the cast of characters that carry this first novel. Interestingly intriguing, they are worth the effort of trying to determine their place in the plot, their various motivations and simply enjoying their moments of uniqueness. And the gothic, urban, New York setting gives such a gritty realism to the fantasy elements of the story.

In the end though, the novel is let down by the unoriginality of the plot. It is so derivative of so much else – more than simply reminiscent - the worlds of Buffy, Dr Who, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, are all echoing around in there. I’m mindful that this is the first in a series, so there’s hope that Clare is using these worlds as a springboard to her own ideas in the next two books. The nod to Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales is nicely done, and aims for that ‘insider’ feeling for readers following two authors writing in the same urban fantasy genre.

I was too disappointed with the plot device revealed at the end of the story; it’s so cliché now, it would take a writer with extraordinary skill to make that type of plot-line fresh and believable. Unfortunately, Clare is not there yet, and it made the ending anti-climactic and wince-worthy.

Nonetheless, I will be looking forward to reading the next part, The City of Ashes, to see where Clare takes her story and these characters. I have hopes that this will be one of those series that improves enormously with each new installment, building to a trilogy seen, as a whole, as a Great Read.

Corbenic

Corbenic

Author: Catherine Fisher

A contemporary retelling of the Fisher King legend, and Percival's search for the Holy Grail, this story confronts several dark themes in a deeply moving and emotional story.

Cal has been looking after his alcoholic, mentally unstable mum for all his young life. He jumps at a chance to go stay with a rich uncle, and ruthlessly severs his ties with his mum. However, he gets off the train at the wrong station, and finds himself in Corbenic, taken in by Bron (the wounded Fisher King), and sees a vision which he later denies.

Cal has been deeply wounded by his difficult upbringing, and his coping mechanisms work against him, leaving him lost in a pain filled wasteland. It's not until he accepts that he must face his past, acknowledge the way it has shaped him, and forgiven his mum and himself, that he can finally have a chance at gaining his Grail.

An excellent book - the dark themes are explored with confidence, and the mix of contemporary and legendary symbolism is nicely handled. I wonder though, how a reader not familiar with the source material would find the story...I feel that they may not be as drawn in as I was.