The Novel of the Tumpinamba IndianWhen I heard that a novel written by a surrealist artist was being published in English for the first time, I knew I needed to read it. I was fascinated, both by the subject matter and the writer. The Novel of the Tumpinamba Indian is a surrealist take on the Spanish Civil War and was written by E. F. Granell, artist and revolutionary.
Juana and the Dragonewts' Seven Kingdoms Vol. 1I’m always looking for a new fantasy story, a genre which has been just a little bit hard to find these last few years as the isekai genre has taken over just about everything. Juana and the Dragonewts’ Seven Kingdoms by Kiyohisa Tanaka is a beautiful, fun fantasy with a lot of heart. I’ve heard it related to the Ancient Magus’ Bride, and while I’m not completely up to date with either the manga releases or the anime, I can see why. This is a fantasy story, one where a human girl, maybe the last one, finds herself amid a realm of dragon like creatures. But instead of being from the point of view of a human suddenly plunged into a fantastical world, we are given the opposite – a fantastical creature living in a fantastical world finds a human without fully knowing what it is or what to do with it.
Robots vs. FairiesAnthologies are some of my favorite books to read, and Robots vs. Fairies may very well be my favorite anthology to date. Edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe, this anthology is divided into stories featuring either robots or fairies, and sometimes both of them together. Every story is different in tone. No two share the same world.
I have made a point to borrow as many manga from my local library as possible. This decision was fueled partially to fray the costs of buying hundreds of volumes a year, but also as an attempt to get the library to purchase more manga titles. One of my recent borrows was Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto Vol 1 by Nami Sano, a manga in a genre my husband refers to as ‘strange people doing strange things’ but but would also fit into the wonderful ‘beautiful boys who do things well’ genre.
The Ghost and the Lady Vol. 1My husband recommended I read The Ghost and the Lady Volume 1, not because he knew anything about the story or that it was created by the same mangaka that created Ushio and Tora, but because he saw the fabulously dressed man with a fabulous hat on the cover. And boy do I like fabulously dressed men with fabulous hats. Hey, he knows me well. As it turned out, this was a fantastic move as it has nearly everything I love in it – fabulously dressed people, a healthy dose of fantasy, awesome fights, some brilliant artwork, and (my favorite) history.
Chi's Sweet Home Vol. 1There are certain books you stumble across repeatedly whether they are mentioned by friends or are included in lists or articles online. One manga I kept coming across is a story about a cat that looked absolutely adorable. I’ve finally read Chi’s Sweet Home, Vol. 1 by Konata Konami.
The story follows Chi, a cute little kitten that gets separated from its mother and siblings only to be found by a little boy visiting a park. Chi is taken home by the family even though they aren’t allowed pets in their apartment. What follows are a series of cute happenings and hi-jinks around Chi’s new home.
Food Wars! Vol. 1Out of all the many genres of manga, shonen is hands down my favorite. I haven’t read every shonen title, but I’ve certainly read a lot of them. I thought I’d seen every sort of battle shonen there was. And then Food Wars! strolled into my life. Food Wars! Volume 1 by Yuto Tsukada and Shun Saeki is a shonen manga based on food.
That’s right, folks. Behold the bold creativity of a shonen battle manga based on cooking!
In CalabriaBooks steeped in myth and folktale are ones that I am always drawn to, so it is with no surprise that I found myself with a copy of In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle.
Claudio Bianchi needs no one, opting to remain on his farm with his animals and his poetry to the exclusion of everything and everyone else. But one day a unicorn that, if he isn’t mistaken, is about to give birth wanders onto his farm and calls it home. Suddenly entrusted with this magical appearance, he finds himself beset upon by those who want the unicorn for their own ends, some of whom refuse to take no as an answer.
Record of Lodoss War: The Grey WitchThere is nothing I appreciate more than a rerelease of an older title, especially when those of us in the US may have missed out on a translation the first time around. These are the light novels and manga of my youth, before my youth, the ones that have formed the genres and tropes we know today. Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch by Ryo Mizuno was first published when the concept of light novels was still new. Now, thirty years later, it is brought to the US for the first time.
Uzumaki Vol. 1There is nothing quite like reading a great horror story, and with Junji Ito a reader can never go wrong. Uzumaki Volume 1 by Junji Ito is an utterly fantastic horror tale set in a city beset by something rather innocent appearing at first, but quickly grows to epidemic proportions.
In Uzumaki the town of Kuozu-cho is haunted by spirals. The patterns can be found in nature – plants, water, within the human body. All of these are innocent enough. But spirals begin appearing in other places such as the crazed obsessions of Suichi Saito’s father and slowly spreads.
Welcome to Looking Glass Reads! We review speculative fiction novels as well as manga, light novels, and graphic novels.
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