Edward and Alphonse Elric are essentially forced to do a bit of work for Colonel Mustang in this one. Mustang is super busy but has also been tasked with monitoring a little town called Wisteria and writing up a report, so he delegates the Wisteria report to Edward.

Wisteria turns out to be a mysterious place. Everyone seems to think it's a desert utopia, the kind of place no one ever leaves. The only people allowed in are those who have nowhere else to go. Raygen, the alchemist who founded the town, explains that it operates under the law of equivalent exchange. As long as everyone works and contributes, they'll have a place to stay and food to eat. The harder jobs, like mining gemstones that are later sold outside Wisteria, pay better, but there's also easier work available in the local tavern and elsewhere around town. It seems perfect, until Edward investigates a little more.

This book had a decent message

I might have liked this more if it hadn't felt so much like I'd already read it. Raygen, Wisteria, and Ruby reminded me a lot of Father Cornello, Reole/Liore, and Rose. Since that was one of the earliest storylines in the series, it surprised me that neither Ed nor Al were reminded of any of it themselves. True, Wisteria's secret was different than Reole/Liore's, but it was the same basic setup, a miraculously wonderful town controlled by a charismatic leader who wasn't as kind as he appeared to be. Both Ruby and Rose were tied to their respective charismatic leaders by their painful pasts.

I did like that Inoue paid a bit more attention to Alphonse than usual. Wisteria and its citizens prompted Alphonse to think more deeply about his goals and his feelings about his new body vs. his old one. And I really enjoyed the conversation Ed and Al had about any feelings of guilt Ed might still be carrying around. It reminded me that these two are probably my top favorite manga/anime siblings.

Translation-wise, either I just wasn't in the right mood or this one was a bit stiffer than the previous two.

This didn't really offer anything new and didn't work as well for me as the previous two novels, but it was still relatively decent.

Extras:

A handful of black-and-white illustrations, one full-color illustration, an author afterword, and a short afterword by Hiromu Arakawa, complete with a couple sketches.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

This book is basically an argument for Universal Basic Income, health care for all, etc. Ed and Al find a little town that seems like paradise, until they discover what happens when people are too old, sick, and/or weak to work.

After another unsuccessful investigation into Philosopher's Stone rumors, Edward and Alphonse Elric wait for a train. Strangely, when one finally arrives, it's hours late. They're also surprised to see Roy Mustang and Jean Havoc among the passengers, dressed in civilian clothes. They soon learn that there has been a lot of recent terrorist activity on the train tracks. The terrorists announce their bombing target 20-30 minutes in advance, enough time for civilians to get to safety but too little time for the military to do anything to stop them. It's terrorism without terror - civilians are more inconvenienced than anything, and they've directed their annoyance towards the ineffectual military.

Although he hasn't been able to find any proof yet, Roy suspects that the bombings are somehow connected to a string of kidnappings. The kidnappers abduct a child from a family with a connection to the military, demand and receive a ransom, and let the child go free, completely unharmed. As Ed and Al continue their own work, they accidentally stumble across something that may be key to both of Roy's investigations.

This is the second Fullmetal Alchemist novel I've read, and the first that I don't think was turned into a filler episode in the original anime, so the story was entirely new to me. It was decent - not something I'll necessarily want to reread, but it felt like something that could happen in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, was a relatively quick and light read, and the characters mostly acted and spoke like themselves.

Ancy, the child Ed and Al encountered, was like literally every child they've ever met in the series, sweet and cute. There was a funny running joke involving Ed calling Roy "Dad" that, for a very brief moment, dipped into "Roy as Ed's father figure" territory. Havoc drove a car badly, multiple times. Ed went up against a couple dozen terrorists and managed to hold his own with alchemy and an entire building (although he forgot that some parts of buildings are load-bearing and really shouldn't be messed with). There were no alchemists in the terrorist group, but there was a guy named Gael who was ridiculously strong and fast.

It wasn't the most exciting story, overall, but it had some good stuff in it, especially in the second half. Roy and Ed had some great scenes together. The one thing that was a little off was the bit where a woman called Ed a "wee bonnie squire" to Al's "knight in shining armor" (78) and Ed didn't even twitch.

This is the last of the Fullmetal Alchemist novels that I have on hand, but I'd still like to read the rest.

Extras:

A few black and white illustrations throughout, an afterword by Makoto Inoue, and an afterword/illustrated interpretation of the "you have a son?" scene by Hiromu Arakawa. Also, one full-color illustration.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

The Fullmetal Alchemist light novels may not be great reads, but they're definitely not bad. Easy to get through, and the stories feel like something that could happen in the series. In fact, in some cases they were turned into filler episodes in the original anime. I don't think that was the case with this particular book, though.

This is the last book in the light novel series that I own. It looks like there might have been five total translated into English. I kind of want to read the rest, but I haven't decided yet whether it will be through interlibrary loan or purchases. I'll have to see what the library holdings numbers are like. On the plus side, if I do end up buying the rest, it looks like they're still in print and reasonably priced.

This volume is composed of two stories. The primary one is "The Land of Sand." The shorter bonus story is "The Phantom of Warehouse 13." Both of these stories were adapted into episodes in the original anime series.

"The Land of Sand":

Edward and Alphonse arrive at the dying former gold mining town of Xenotime and are shocked to learn that two boys who say their names are Edward and Alphonse Elric have been living in Xenotime for a while, researching how to make a Philosopher's Stone in order to revitalize the town. Who are these imposters, and how close are they to finishing their research?

This wasn't bad, like bland but reasonably well-written fanfic. It's been a while since I watched the anime adaptation of this, but I remembered liking that more than this story. Ed and Al seemed to be pretty accurately depicted (although I've never thought of Al as being "bronze-hued" (14)), but the text did have occasional clunky moments. There were times when I could tell that the humor would probably work on-screen but was a bit awkward and weird on-page, like the time Ed and Russell transitioned from a physical battle to a verbal one.

One thing I really liked about this story was the "little brother" aspect. Both Al and Fletcher were the level-headed younger brothers, but whereas Al could talk to his brother and expect to be listened to, Fletcher was afraid to tell his brother what he was really thinking. I loved the scenes where Al and Fletcher bonded, and watching Fletcher slowly become more confident was nice.

I didn't see anything that contradicted anything I recalled from the manga (although it's been ages since I last read any of that). I agree with those who wondered why Ed didn't just pull out his State Alchemist pocket watch to prove his identity, though. I suppose you could argue that the Xenotime townsfolk were so convinced that their Edward and Alphonse were real that even that wouldn't have swayed them, but it was still a bit odd that he didn't even give it a shot.

"The Phantom of Warehouse 13":

Colonel Roy Mustang gets roped into helping his men investigate reports of nighttime ghostly activity near Warehouse 13. Several people said they heard sounds of digging and weeping. Since Warehouse 13 doesn't exist, Roy is pretty sure everything's happening near Warehouse B. He's determined to get to the bottom of it all before Eastern Command becomes both a laughing stock and a tourist attraction.

This story was goofy and ridiculous, and I enjoyed it anyway. It made no effort to even pretend that it might advance anything in the overall Fullmetal Alchemist storyline. Roy Mustang, Fuery, Havoc, Falman, and Breda were like a group of little boys taking part in a sleepover and scaring each other silly with ghost stories.

I couldn't tell whether the ending was predictable or whether I just remembered too much of the anime episode. Either way, this was a fun bit of fluff.

All in all, this volume was a quick and relatively decent read.

Extras:

• One full-page color illustration and several black-and-white illustrations created by Hiromu Arakawa.
• A couple pages of sketches - Fletcher and Russell, plus Ed imagining how tall and suave he'll be at age 19. Also, a 4-panel comic about the planning stages for the book that's a bit horrifying if you know what happens to Maes Hughes in the series. Poor Makoto Inoue.
• A 3-page afterword written by Makoto Inoue.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)