When I first read The Vision written by Tom King, I saw brilliance and passion that was never done before in comics. When I heard about Mister Miracle, also written by him, I have to read it and this is by far, another great read that only he can come up some thing original, much like the Wes Anderson of comics.

But what I can't say much about this is the synopsis because there is just so much to write about and also, in its own brilliance, deeper than I have ever read. There are layers upon layers in this story that focus on Scott Free and his wife, Big Barda and how all of a sudden, New Genesis is at war. But this is not about the war, it is the question of life and death and how Scott Free handles it. He is not really at his right mind, and his reality seems to be crumbling down or just the other way around? Still, what makes this comic an incredible read is the dialogue, the artwork and the nine-panel creation that was meant to write as it is for. I love how it is not the norm from most written comics but this is one of the best stories I have ever read and one I would recommend to all if you have not read it. Yes, it may get confusing if you do not know most of the characters from the Fourth World but don't let it stop you, you just got to read this.

I have finally finished! The sequel to Six of Crows and the finale of this duology ends to me with a satisfying conclusion. It has been a wild journey for me, a long one (my fault, due to reading slump and work) and in the end, it's almost perfect.

Continued from where it was left off, Kaz Brekker and his crew returns to Ketterdam as wanted fugitives. After being double crossed by Jan Van Eck, the crew needs to hide their most wanted prize, if only they won't be hunted by every one who wants that prize and killing the crew. But Kaz has a plan that will change the game of odds to his favor and the only way to do this, is that his crew able to survive to challenge what's ahead of them.

I do love the finale and how it ended. Its not really great but its good enough that it ends as its meant to be. I love the characters, its development and the relationship between one another. The scheming and the planning, the plot and the twist is just good enough to keep me reading. If not for the slump, I would have finished this sooner. There is so much to explore on this book that I want to talk about but this is definitely worth re-reading... one day. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Before, I did mention I enjoyed reading short stories. There aren't many books with short stories today and for a long time, I heard about The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, which is one of the reasons why I had been looking high and low for this collection. There are 24 short stories altogether and to my amazement, I really enjoyed reading all of them.

The Lottery and Other Stories is divided into 5 parts and to its own theme. Here's a short summary for each of these stories:-

The Intoxicated - When a drunk meets the daughter of the host of the party. The Daemon Lover - A girl looking for her future husband on her wedding day. Like Mother Used to Make - A man cooks dinner for his guest only to be thrown out of his house. Trial By Combat - A woman's apartment been robbed by another tenant. The Villager - A woman pretend to be a buyer of things. My Life With R.H. Macy - A man works in Macys. The Witch - A man tells a story of a scary witch to a child in gruesome details. The Renegade - When an owner's dog kills a farmers chicken. After You, My Dear Alphonse - A game played between two children. Charles - A boy shares his school days with his parents about a naughty student. Afternoon in Linen - A grandmother proud of his grand daughter of a poem she wrote. Flower Garden - A wife who fell in love with a cottage meets the new owner that the neighbors do not want to be friends with. Dorothy and My Grandmother and The Sailors- A trip to a town only to avoid sailors. Colloquy - A patient shares her problems with a doctor. Elizabeth - A day of a literary agent. A Fine Old Firm - A meeting of new neighbors. The Dummy - One night show of a ventriloquist. Seven Types of Ambiguity - A couple going into a bookstore to buy books. Come Dance With Me In Ireland - When three women shown kindness to an Irish old man. Of Course - Greeting a new neighbor. Pillars of Salt An experience trip to New York to remember by a couple. Men With Their Big Shoes - When an expected married wife gets a different view about husbands from a caretaker. The Tooth - When a married woman goes on a trip to New York to extract a tooth with devastating change. The Lottery - A lottery that is held with unexpected results.

There is a small poem as a companion to The Daemon Loverwhich can be read at the end of the book. This is my first time reading a Shirley Jackson book without any expectations. I never thought I would be amazed by her writing, let alone magnetize by her way of story telling. There is some thing about her writings that really makes an interesting read. These stories, some doesn't have an ending. Its like a pick out of the blue chapter from some where. Its plot isn't interesting but by way of reading, its something else. I followed to each of their own and to each of them, they are all good (for me any way). Usually I won't enjoy a short story if it lingers in the end but this is an exception for me because, its just the way she writes that I like about. I had invested in her other books (bought almost all of them I think) and I can't wait to read them all. The Lottery and Other Stories is a book picking up because of its writing but yes, it may not be anyone's cup of tea but still, I would highly recommend it for its weirdness, twist and unexpected spin of tales of the normal that makes it quite extraordinary.

If there is one thing when it comes to anime, people will always remember Akira. When it comes to manga, this is a one read people should invested on. I love Akira personally because of its sheer epic story of man versus Godhood and any thing that writes about power, this is the book people of all reader types should read.

30 years ago in 1992, an explosion in Japan cause the beginning of World War III. In 2028, Tokyo has become Neo-Tokyo, a place where society is on the rise of political distrust and Japan's top secret military army is trying to prevent one of its biggest secret to leak out to the world... until an accident on a highway towards where the origin of the explosion starts a chain of events that will lead to... Akira. Two friends (Kaneda & Tetsuo) will be fighting for their lives on friendship, love and the fate of Japan.

I love Akira ever since its anime was released in 1989. When I watched it, I was floored by its cell animation, its story and its science fiction action dystopian future. I never knew there was a manga series (but that was after I read Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita, and it still is one of my favorite mangas of all time, next to Akira) and it took me a while to finally waited long enough to get the compilation series in six volumes and read it at one go. This to me... is nothing more than one of the best sci-fi manga series ever written and drawn. There is so much to explore here and so much to love. Not many authors or creators these days are bold enough to write some thing this good and this is one of the best 1200 over pages I have ever read. Yes, there are some issues on the book that is overlook and not answered at all but to much of its own, it has answered a lot when it comes to its main story, not the back story. For me, if you want to pick up a manga title and its your first time ever - this is the manga series to invest on. 

p/s: Lately my reviews are getting shorter and shorter in writing. I would definitely explore back and write more if I had time.

Detachment. Misunderstood. An outsider. The first time I read Albert Camus's The Outsider (also known as The Stranger for U.S. publication), I was recommended that this was his best work. With over a little 100 over pages, divided into two parts, this is a story of Meursault, a man that doesn't connect with the world of the living.

The book opens with a funeral of Meursault's mother. He doesn't feel any sadness of his mother, let alone feel anything at all. He shares a cigarette with a caretaker as his mother's friends attend and watch him, he doesn't shed a tear. After a few days, he met a girl named Marie and they became intimate. He made a friend as well with a colleague of his (Raymond) and soon they embark on a beach where one choice change the life of Meursault that leads him a destination he accepted, even he feels nothing towards the world of the living.

The Outsider in many ways speaks in volumes. The right to judge someone, the absurd condition of humankind and the right to challenge one's belief. There are many parts of this book that speaks well of people who many do not understand. I felt Meursault is not a tragic character but a character, in general, people do not understand. I for one... do. There is so much richness in this book that if read between the words, I understand that a person as simple how Meursault thinks about the world itself, its deeper than it covers the depths of a simple book. In fact, there is so much to explore and even discuss the meanings as much as how incredible and carefully written this book where its not meticulous and yet, well written in many ways. I truly enjoy the book as much as I understand the world Meursaultthinks he is in. Where one is forced to believe in God, he doesn't. Where one believes he had no attachments to his girlfriend Marie of love, but he would do what she wants him to. He did love his mother, but in his own way that nobody understands. In a point where how Meursault live his life, he felt indifferent towards what is in front of him.

I enjoy reading The Outsider. To me, I would recommend anyone with an open mind to read this. This is truly a book I consider a classic and its a rare thing to enjoy this much. I should have taken more time to finish this since its a short book but in the end, its worth finishing it.