Welcome back to Book Club! A segment I make whenever I've finished a book and feel like talking about it. Which means, whenever I damn well feel like it. If I sound aloof and sarcastic today, it's because I just finished reading one of the worst books I've ever read in my life; Anthem, by Ayn Rand. Why did I put myself through this? It's simple, really. I am a masochist.
So needless to say, I was curious. The "classics" section of my local used bookstore was literally teeming with copies of Rand's work, and I sure as shit was NOT about to read something as long as Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead. But I wanted to know what people hated about her and her work so much -- (or loved, if you're of that inclination). I thought, "why is one's politics enough to incur so much wrath?" Boy howdy is that a naive thought, but I am a mere foolish babe, and I had it nonetheless. So I bought a second-hand copy, and gave it a read.
And would ya know it, it was awful.
What is Anthem about? Honestly I have no idea. "Collectivism bad?" It's a painfully boring 104 pages, where most of the "story" is just first-person monologue about the state of the world. How people are assigned jobs at birth, given strange "noun-number" names, think of themselves as a collective instead of a single person, and live day to day doing whatever they're told to do. At first, that would sound like a dystopia, right? Good old satirical science fiction. Not on the comedic side, but the dramatic one. Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and of course, 1984. Classics for a good reason.
Except it isn't a dystopia. It isn't even really a novel. It's a fucking essay pretending to be. Wholly fictitious, yes, but so allegorical -- and one built on a scarily confused strawman, at that -- that it ceases to be anything other than nonsense.
Oh my god! Just look at that prose! The themes are so strooooong and amaaaaaazing I love you Ayn Rand we we weeee!
NO. This is garbage. This is terrible. This is idiocy of the highest form. Self indulgent and masturbatory and pretentious without having anything to show for itself other than a flimsy, uncreative skeleton. Ayn Rand did not write a fiction here, she wrote a rant, all built on the flawed idea that all collectivist philosophies can be pinned into the same wheel; that of oppressing man and striking away one's individuality. Needless to say, this is a big fat yikes. Not really because of its complicated implications, but more so because she just looks like a fucking idiot. Nothing happens in this book, other than the stream of consciousness in the head of a formless, void of a protagonist (whose thoughts are just a stand-in for her own beliefs) that doesn't interact with the setting or themes in any meaningful way. Want me to summarize this book for you? I can do it very quickly.
--
Dude is born in "uh oh, communism society because they're raised by the state and can't decide how to live their lives, but also fascism society because they Sieg Heil, but also a dystopian future society where no one can think for themselves" -->
Dude is pushed around by the feds -->
Dude don't like that, and has oddly translucent thoughts about not liking it, despite supposedly knowing no different -->
Dude meets epic girl!! (all the classic dystopians share this trope for some reason) -->
Dude also finds a hidey hole and learns how to read. Then he researches like a boss -->
Dude becomes an enlightened Ubermensch and fucks off to the mountains with his beautiful wife to start society anew with his epic knowledge.
-END-
--
Yet just when the story reached a conclusion, it kept going for another twenty pages of ego-stroking, waxing poetic about "yargh argh yargh I can think for myself now" without there being any long-standing repercussions for the protagonist's actions. This is a dystopian novel, right? About the future, if we fall to collectivism and lose all sense of our individual selves? Then why isn't there some kind of setpiece or occurrence where we see this as a consequence? Wouldn't it make sense to show that, if we go that far, that even if he becomes the individual society has lost, his knowledge isn't enough against the world's collectivist power? I think that would be pretty thematically logical, don't you? "We should not do this or this would happen."
There is nothing of the sort. This buffoon thinks he can read a few books and change the world. No cause and effect, no... anything.
And why would there be? This is not a story. It is screaming. There are no consequences because Rand is not criticizing collectivism, she's praising hubris. I don't want to discount Rand's life in communist Russia, but I also can't imagine how those conditions created an obvious "thinker" type who has lived in horrors... then goes and creates a hollow and inane piece of work. It doesn't reflect hardly anything of anything. But in a way, I am willing to bet that this is most certainly her best book -- simply on principle that it's the shortest and, therefore, subjects you to less of itself. Please trust me, reader. I read this so you don't have to.
And I will end this cynical episode of book club with one thought. That of "Ego." Rand, at the end of the story, proposes this as the unkillable, ultimate power of man. In my own story, a many volume fantasy epic, "ego" is specifically something that leads to downfall. I bring this up only because I noticed that as an instant point of contention between us, as writers. I am fallible, like any human being, and get cocky about certain things from time to time. I also allow myself to have pride in who I am and the things I do. But generally, I see ego, which leads then to hubris, as a universal human fault. Something that becomes a serious issue if left unchecked, and leads to questionable -- sometimes downright heinous -- choices and actions. In the text of my book series, which I call Over the Dust and Snow, I represent ego and hubris with the burning rays of the sun (conversely, modesty and humbleness is represented with the moon, of course). When characters get too big a head or act in their own self-interest, the sun blazes hot or peeks out behind the clouds, and they often suffer punishment for the things they do. Fly too close, after all, and those wings of wax will melt.
Don't get me wrong. I am an absolutist concerning freedom of speech. I value art, expression, knowledge, and recognize individualism as quite an important part of life. But I cannot bring myself to conflate it with unchecked hubris, nor pit it against a self-informed narrative about what I think another philosophy means.
Maybe, Rand, you should not be encouraging people to fly too close to the sun.
Sensor! The newest Junji Ito hardcover from Viz. I saw it, and had to grab it.
This is the eighth collected work I've read from Ito, the others being Tomie, Gyo, Uzumaki, Hellstar Remina, Shiver, Venus in the Blind Spot, The Dissolving Classroom, and my personal favorite, Junji Ito's Cat Diary. I'm keeping up a sizeable collection of the mangaka's amazing cosmic horror, and I'm happy to say that Sensor was a great addition to my collection.
However, I have a confession. When I first read Ito's work with Viz's release of Shiver, I honestly wasn't super impressed. The art was obviously beautiful, and Ito is great at high concept ideas, but none of it even so much as grossed me out. I was not weary of turning the page, the horrifying reveal of each story didn't give me the heebie jeebies, and overall I closed the book somewhat unimpressed. And to this day, I'm still not bothered by Ito's work... or any horror, for that matter. There's a post on this blog about fear, which I wrote a few years back. In it, I talked about being a huge weenie as a child, scared of his own shadow type. Scared of watching Anakin turn to the dark side, close my eyes when the werewolf from Harry Potter is on-screen type. But for whatever reason... literally nothing gets under my skin anymore. Nothing. Not even gruesome accounts of true crime, or the horrors of war. I blame the internet for desensitizing me. Either way, it has made me literally impervious to most horror (except for Five Nights at Freddy's VR) and Ito's work is still no exception.
However, I have come to really, really appreciate his stuff. It might not scare me, but his art is absolutely mesmerizing, his reveals and frights are perfectly timed, and most of his work dabbles in thematic nuance that horror often lacks. (I would know, I am currently writing a short horror story collection that is fucking atrocious). Sensor, in this sense (ay see what I did there?) is quite the ample proof that he still has it.
The story is short, with only seven chapters, and deals with themes involving the infinite knowledge of the cosmos, religious fanaticism, suicide, and faith -- most of which reminded me heavily of Ito's other work, Hellstar Remina. Though I prefer Remina because of its insanity, Sensor is more grounded, especially with historical references to Christianity's ban in Japan during the Edo period, and its scale being much more dialed back than that of literal planet-eating. We see a tiny glimpse of that kinda stuff in Sensor, but most of it has to do with horror brought about by crazy people with access to powers they really shouldn't.
Beside the themes, this manga is not much different from Ito's other works. There's not exactly any character depth, but it's also not about the characters, really. It's about the intertwining of the themes with the shock value of his artwork. And let me tell you, there is no shortage of that --
Hidden knowledge driving someone insane is a favorite trope of mine, and
Sensor portrays cataclysmic, cosmic horror with such themes very well. I
also love stories where everything comes together at the end, and while Ito
dabbles in this on occasion, it's rare to see it all be as clean as it is here. He also brought in a unique concept in theosophical philosophy, and that is The "Akashic Records." A friend of mine is writing a story that also uses this topic, if you wanted to check it out. In short, the "Akashic Records" are a supposed database -- a library, if you will -- of all knowledge in the universe. As the Wikipedia page states, the Akashic Records contain "all universal events, thoughts, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, and future." That is to say, all the universe's histories, every person's thoughts and actions, everything. And people, in Sensor, want to have this knowledge for themselves.
It's no small wonder Ito's iteration of the Akashic Records looks like a brain -- I won't spoil the reveal here, but remember that part about how I said everything comes together? Just remember what the Akashic Records is, and who maybe wants it. That being said, this is a genius little motif that I latched onto right when I saw it. I've never pictured the Akashic Records as a brain, or at least something with an obviously brain-like shape, but that just means Ito is many steps ahead of me. If you think it makes sense now, it being "knowledge" and all, just wait until you see what he does with it.
There are other themes here, though. Suicide, cults, religious fanaticism and faith going too far -- does Sensor say anything significant about them? Well, not exactly, but it certainly portrays things like the extended devotion cultists show to their beliefs, and revenge death leading to implied guilt, in a way that melds it with the horror of the story. The imagery here is top notch, man. Although I do think Ito may have used electronic art in these panels more than he usually does, that's certainly not a bad thing. His style is evolving, little by little.
In the unknowable expanse of the universe, forbidden knowledge of what's out there and, maybe, what isn't, is a terrifying thing to me. Similar to the endless depths of the ocean, and the crushing blackness it shares with the heavens. We're all just small little people on a tiny rock in space, but the unknown is so much greater and more vast than we can possibly understand. And we see, in Sensor, the cost of understanding the happenings in that unknown. I'm sorry to say it still did not scare me, but it is certainly a great visual story that's worth the read, as ideas like that are great fun to see in a visual medium like manga. H.P. Lovecraft, an obvious influence to Ito, has his share of stories in prose, and that often serves the genre well when we're forced to use our imaginations. But Ito has a gift at portraying horror with his artwork, and to that I can only beg fans of scary things to give his stories a try. Sensor is an excellent place to start.
Thanks for reading! Happy to be getting back on the proverbial horse, so to speak. I'm looking forward to talking more about other manga and books!
I've been fine, thanks for asking. The only reason I haven't blogged recently is because I am knee deep in my current manuscript, which just so happens to be the third novel in my fantasy series, so it's a difficult one to write. It has quickly become my biggest book (180,000 words as of writing this!!) and, thus, my most complex and ambitious. I can't expend too much time on other projects because of this.
However, I can try. I have a few things to share, so I will start with the first;
1. I'll be going on several trips this month. Yay me! I will also attempt to blog about them, because I want to blog more about my life and not only about what I read.
2. Contradicting that first point, I will try to blog more about the books I read. I did this with manga at the beginning of the year, which was fun, but I have gone on to reading more novels at this point and I should talk about them. However, I don't know when this will happen, as everything I'm reading and plan to read -- for the foreseeable near future -- are all sequels and continuations of several series'. Since I haven't talked about the first installments here I may wait until I start something new. But given that I'm going to be reading the fourth Dune novel, the third A Song of Ice and Fire Novel, the fourth Mistborn novel, the second Golem and the Jinni novel, and countless volumes in several manga series, I do not know when this will be.
3. I've started posting my fiction on a web-novel website. Not my main stuff, but side stories I've either had for a long time or am writing currently to take a break from my now over 500 page novel. When the first short story collection is done, I will post a link and reveal the website, as well as the account I post under. I don't think these stories are super good, so the response I get will probably be... interesting, to say the least. But, it's been years since I started down this path, and all of you are so damn lazy you can't finish any of my shit so I had to go to the internet for help it's about time others read my stuff :)
And last but not least, One Piece, by Eichiro Oda.
The Big Three, as they're called -- juggernauts in not just Japanese media, but pop culture on the whole. All three of them have made their mark on history in the world of modern entertainment. While Ichigo and Luffy may be marginally more obscure, I'd be willing to bet that there's not many children in the western world that don't know who Naruto is.
In my venture at the beginning of this year to consume as much manga as possible, I came upon an idea; what if I gave the big three a try? Despite my large collection and long history with this medium, I honestly had not read or watched hardly any of Naruto, Bleach, or One Piece. I'm not exactly sure why. I was introduced to anime and manga by way of Soul Eater, and then got around to Fullmetal Alchemist, Death Note, Angel Beats, and various other anime that were popular in 2010 - 2012. However, the big three were not on that list. I didn't actively avoid them, but I think their length might have been a bit intimidating. They, along with Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, just never ended up on my radar.
And I have to admit, they still aren't. I don't intend to read past volume one. This is a writing experiment to see just what I can pull out of a single volume of each series, and I recognize that I won't have necessary context to adequately analyze each of these story's wider narratives. In as such, I'll be looking at what makes up each of their first installments; the art, the panel flow, the action, the characters, the setup, the power systems, and their general beginnings. What I like, and what I don't. I won't be covering each event of the volume unless it's relevant to what I might have to say, so don't expect a full description of whatever happens in the story.
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange."
--
FullmetalAlchemist is a behemoth of a series. Packed with themes, nuance, and topics that could have us talking for hours. I may delve into more than one, but the biggest theme I want to talk about from FullmetalAlchemist today is that of "truth." A very philosophical concept, indeed. While I hope most readers are familiar with FullmetalAlchemist and I will be spoiling and referencing things in fashion for an audience that is, I will briefly go over the premise of the story;
Set in a 1910's like world, FullmetalAlchemist follows the journey of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, as they search for the Philosopher's Stone in hopes they can use it to return their bodies back to normal. Edward has two mechanical limbs, and Alphonse is only a soul stuck within a suit of armor. They tried to bring their mother back from the dead with a half-science, half-magic known as "Alchemy," which much of the story and setting is based around, and in the process it backfired and ruined their bodies. This is certainly a "back of the book" description of the story, as there are many other themes in FullmetalAlchemist; the horrors of war, the contrast between faith and science, the circle of life and how we can't remove ourselves from it, and the simple truth of existence; the dead cannot come back.
I think many of these themes are not only connected inherently, but connected to the idea of "truth" as well. First and foremost, we come to the concept of the "Philosopher's Stone." This object has appeared in other fantasy media, like Harry Potter, and while it isn't a real thing, it was certainly a real idea. There are many recorded references to it found in scientific writings from as early as 300 A.D., as it was supposedly an "all-powerful" material said to turn metal into gold. Alchemists, which were scientist-philosophers playing around with metals and chemicals before actual chemistry was a thing, would attempt to find or create it, resulting in the the term "magnum opus." The stone is used far differently in FullmetalAlchemist, as it's not just used for metal, but can do basically anything and thus supposedly breaks the law of "equivalent exchange." As we see from the first volume, alchemists in the universe of the story are already able to turn other materials into gold. The Philospher's Stone is instead used as a macguffin until the characters learn how it's made and why it can sustain such immense power -- it's crafted with the transmuted souls of many, many other humans. By using the energy of their harvested lives, the laws of alchemy can be surpassed. But even then, it's not infinite. When a stone's power is used up, it falls to ash.
What's interesting here is that after the pieces fall into place, we see that the Philosopher's Stone isn't actually surpassing anything. The value of a human soul, in FullmetalAlchemist's world, is quite a lot -- but it is still just a part of the world's flow like everything else, and is finite. The law of Equivalent Exchange is not being broken with the use of the stone -- it's just that an overwhelming amount of energy is expended, thus allowing for the creation of many complex things. In the end, it breaks like every other machine, and dies like every other life.
The Philosopher's Stone is a brilliant metaphor for the value of our lives pitted against the value of everything else; one life is equal to exactly that. One life. No matter what race, gender, ethnicity, class, creed, faith, profession -- the truth is that of the cycle of the world, as we are all equally a part its of ecosystem. One is all. All is one.
This is why the main antagonist, Father, ultimately fails at obtaining the power of God; because no one can become greater than this great flow -- and God, in this sense, is the truth; which represents all of us and our world, parts of one greater whole that cannot be surpassed.
Another truth the story demonstrates is the cyclical nature of vengeance, and the way it begets more violence. "Vengeance sows seeds for more vengeance." We see this with the character of Scar, a victim of the Ishvalan War of Extermination; a military genocide, created specifically for the purpose of completing a nationwide transmutation circle so the main antagonist, Father, could ascend to godhood. State Alchemists and the rest of Amestris's military marched upon the land of Ishval and slaughtered their citizens in the hundreds, and in the process, Scar lost his arm and his brother. (An interesting parallel to Edward, no?) In a fit of blind rage, when he wakes up from an attack and discovers his brother had grafted his arm onto Scar's body with alchemy and perished in the desert, he kills two of the Amestrian doctors taking care of him.
Scar's character arc is that of becoming a terrorist against state alchemists, and rising out of this prejudice after finding out the doctors he killed were the parents of one of the main characters, Winry Rockbell. A wanton massacre of innocent people obviously can't be excused, and Colonel Mustang, a participant in the "war," plans to hold all of those accountable once he becomes furher. However, revenge only piles up on more revenge, and perpetrating violence after being a victim only furthers these problems.
Lastly, before I start talking about the impact this story had on me specifically, I want to briefly mention how truth fits into one of FullmetalAlchemist's other major themes; that of faith, and science. Both are "truth" to different people and play significantly into one's way of life. But too much of either one has lasting consequences. We're introduced to a fanatical religious organization, the Church of the Sun God Leto, right at the beginning of the story, as Edward exposes the main priest's scheme to the people who had fallen for it. What once gave them purpose now became an object of fierce loathing, and Edward himself, a cold-hard athiest, outright says that "alchemists don't believe in unprovable concepts like 'gods'." Conceited in this belief, he outright mocks the faith of a religious character.
However, the alternative to faith is the world of proof, theory, and science. In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, this is synonymous with Alchemy. But we see the horrors that can be brought about when science goes too far, with the Ishvalan War of Extermination, the Hommunculi, Chimeras (mainly Nina and Alexander) and every other twisted thing created with Alchemy. By volume sixteen, Edward admits that the idea that "an alchemist is one who seeks the truth" is a pretentious point of view, and truth is not as black and white as faith or science, but it's something in between.
--
You see, FullmetalAlchemist was there when I was truly starting to become the person I am now. (The rest of this essay is about to get very personal).
In middle school, I discovered anime and manga. I'm not sure why, but I instantly fell in love with its topics and styles. It was so unique. So strange. I've talked a little bit about this idea in my Kingdom Hearts post a few years back, when the third game came out; but the wide array of similar aesthetic styles in anime and manga were really captivating to me, and they still are.
Right around this time in my life, however, I was twelve, thirteen. I was still attempting to fit in with the more typical kinds of kids, and I didn't yet have the self awareness to understand just how easy of a target I was making myself by being open about my love of anime. I went to sleep overs and hang outs with a lot of different boys my age, and I tried to broach the topic of anime -- over time, I continued to get it spat back in my face via bullying, harassment, sometimes smaller things like snide comments and mockery... but they always stick with you. I struggled with who I was, and who I was trying to be.
Fullmetal Alchemist and FullmetalAlchemist: Brotherhood (yes, both of them. Thank you Netflix) were shows I was watching/had watched with my father at the time (my dad seems to have an affinity for cartoons as well, I catch him watching Futurama almost every night, and I've watched multiple anime series in their entirety with him) and they had a really strong effect on me. When I brought up anime with my friends, FullmetalAlchemist was typically one I would be talking about.
Nowadays I can look at the series and appreciate it for its complex themes, its great characters, its fantastic storytelling -- but back then, the single fact that I could watch something like that with my dad was very important to me. Doubly so because I don't think I've ever related to a protagonist as much as I do with Edward. We're both shorter than average, we're both picky eaters, and his agnosticism is one of the first times I interacted with main characters that shared my point of view of God and faith. It was still a confused and developing worldview back then; I come from a pretty conservative, religious town -- (just one more reason I have never fit in) and I also come from a conservative, religious extended family; so entertaining different notions of our universe out loud came with a price. But the value in seeing one's self in art and media cannot be understated. It's why diversity is so important in stories, and even though my relation to Edward had nothing to do with race, I still managed to see someone much like myself grow and change, and it changed my life. Paired with watching it with my father and having it at a time where I was growing into the person I am now, FullmetalAlchemist is a piece of art that means the world to me.
These things definitely make my experience with FullmetalAlchemist a personal, subjective one. But the older I get, the clearer I see that it's not possible to separate life, yourself, and your personal truths with the art you consume, and the art you create. That subjective experience with something gives it meaning. Right? That isn't fact. Instead, it's truth.
--
Thank you Kato on YouTube with your great FullmetalAlchemist and Truth video. It helped me flesh out my ideas a lot!
As always, thanks for reading. And remember; something cannot be gained without first giving something in return.
We've gone through hell and back. 2020 was a historical year for such a high volume of reasons, none of which I will get into here. The important part is; I consumed an absolute truckload of media with the amount of free time I had, and it's time once again to talk about it.
This is gonna be a very long post, so without further ado, let's get into it. But to set your expectations, I will forgo talking about the music I listened to in 2020, as it wasn't that much and I don't have anything significant to say about it.
MOVIES AND TELEVISION
For television, the two notable things I watched in 2020 were Adventure Time, and Breaking Bad.
Adventure Time is a cartoon that came out around my fifth grade year, and I instantly loved it. The adventures of Finn the human boy and Jake, his super stretchy dog, captivated me, made me laugh, and even brought the ever so elusive raw emotion out of me, even back when I was eleven.
I bought up to season 5 when I was in high school, and watched it all as soon as it came in the mail. However, I had never gotten my hands on any content that came later. That was, until my friend loaned me his Hulu.
Holy. Moly.
Adventure Time really ramped up in its last seasons, with the great miniseries Stakes and Islands. I think I liked Islands a little more, but Stakes was great development for Marceline with fun villains and jokes (what comes to mind for me is the Jake as a house joke). I have to admit,the ending of the series made me tear up a little.
And next of course is... well, Breaking Bad. And nothing else needs to be said about that.
The notable movies I watched this year were the Lord of the Rings extended editions, the first two Evil Dead movies, the new Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, and Lawrence of Arabia. Beyond that, I saw 1917, which ended up being one of my new favorite films.
MANGA
The sheer volume of manga I read this year has finally convinced me to make a distinction between Japanese Manga/Korean and/or Chinese Manhwa (even Manfra or OEL Manga) and Western comics and graphic novels (in how I document my media). I honestly do not read that many western comics. Not that I won't, but I find manga far more enchanting.
For continuing titles, we have... a lot. Demon Slayer, Berserk, Magus of the Library, Saint Young Men, Fire Force, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Witch Hat Atelier, Golden Kamuy, Dr. Stone, Vinland Saga, Rent-A-Girlfriend, Heaven's Design Team... must I go on?
Oh? Okay. I will.
Blue Exorcist, The Promised Neverland, Tokyo Ghoul, Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen -- and then the self-contained titles, like Inio Asano's Downfall, Junji Ito's Gyo, Tomie, Venus in the Blind Spot, and Remina, just to name a few.
Right off the bat, I want to start with the negative, and that's Tokyo Ghoul: Re. I managed to get my hands on the final volume, and finally finished the series. I have never been so disappointed by something in my life (kidding). Whereas the first series is a decent -- if flawed -- little action/horror with some more dramatic, personal elements, Tokyo Ghoul: Re fails at literally everything it tries to do. Senseless plot twists, character backstory only for them to die instantly afterward, nonsensical plot direction, ham-fisted end-of-story moral that did not have the proper setup, forgotten plot points, abandoned plot threads, all of it was just a complete mess.
And I hate to be the contrarian, but I must say, while Demon Slayer started strong I really think it's failed to live up to its own potential as of volume 19. It got stuck in a story loop of - demon attacks - characters get horrifically injured fighting it off - demon gets backstory - main character dies - main characters don't suffer lasting consequences for their absurd injuries - rinse repeat rinse repeat rinse repeat. Not to mention; a very important plot point, which it seems like most of the story was leading up to, suddenly just... got concluded. Out of the blue. And it's used to kick off the climax of the story? What?
Don't even get me started on My Hero Academia, either. I read 22 volumes of that series and all I can come away with is the knowledge that I truly wasted my time.
On the positive side though, Blue Exorcist has gotten to a point where I think it's earned a lot of my respect. When I started the series in high school (holy moly... SEVEN years ago...) I thought it had a generic premise, and didn't do much to shake things up. However, as of volume 25 (yesIknowthatcameoutthisyearshhhh) I have to say, the story has fallen into place. I look forward to every new volume, I'm invested in the characters, and I'm not afraid to say I think it's developed great storytelling.
Another series that blew me away was Chainsaw Man. The sheer nihilism -- meaningful emptiness, with a stark, existential tone -- really made it a solid contender for one of the better manga I read in 2020. I started with Viz's physical volumes, but I couldn't stand the wait, and switched to online reading. (I still love it enough to keep getting the volumes though). Tatsuki Fujimoto has a style that no one can really replicate. The art is always so rough, but complimentary to the dark, scathing ideas woven into the story; ideas like the meaninglessness of personal goals, the uncaring, brutal nature of our civilization, and what it means to know the good movies from the bad. And why, after all, we need both. (Manga readers will catch my drift).
Downfall by Inio Asano was a harrowing exploration of the brutality of a manga artist's life, but I also found it a bit pretentious. I've read a few of Asano's works since and I really think he gets caught up in the wind of his own sails, lost in a cycle of sadness that I honestly just can't relate to. I will read Oyasumi Pun Pun at some point, or at least make the attempt. But so far, I am unimpressed.
The Junji Ito works I read were Venus in the Blind Spot, Cat Diary, Hellstar Remina, Uzumaki, and Gyo. The most notable of them all I would have to say are Remina and Cat Diary. Uzumaki is a great read, don't get me wrong, but why is it so lauded when Remina has such a more effective premise? And in a lot less time, too!
There are numerous other things I read. I dropped Heaven's Design Team and Jujutsu Kaisen, as they weren't bad, but none of them appealed to me enough to keep my interest. I'll be continuing Fire Force (for the Soul Eater references), Golden Kamuy (for all the cikapasi, man!), Witch Hat Atelier (for the fantastic whimsy), and of course the titles I mentioned liking. This leads me to the final two titles I want to talk about:
Finally we have Magus of the Library, a manga that seems like it was practically made for me. Unfortunately there isn't a huge amount to say about it since there's only four volumes, but rest assured it's a fantastic new series that I'd recommend to anyone.
But what was my favorite title all year?
What do you think?
~... you hear a rumbling sound...~
If you don't fight, you can't win.
~... like many thousands of enormous feet, stomping on the ground...~
I keep moving forward.
~...coming straight for you...~
Until all my enemies are destroyed.
~...upon the wings of a bird, cast in mid-flight...~
I think I read more novels this year than any year in my life! They usually take me a while, which is why I didn't manage many other kinds of media, but that's okay -- because a lot of them are honestly new favorites. Whereas 2019 left me mostly underwhelmed in the way of literature, 2020 helped me discover a lot of new stories that I'll remember for years to come.
To start it off, I began the year with Neal Shusterman's The Toll, the final book of his Arc of a Scythe Trilogy, and Conference of the Birds, the fifth novel in Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The Toll was a great conclusion to a YA Dystopian series that I think actually got really good with each new installment; Scythe was alright, but its successor, Thunderhead, was great. I like it more than The Toll, but The Toll finds ways to wrap up the story's themes (should people be given the power to take life?) with a really satisfying bow.
Unfortunately, I found Conference of the Birds disappointing. The Miss Peregrine series really grew on me -- I read the first one after seeing the movie, and liked it enough to continue -- book two was even better -- and by book three I'd fallen in love with the cast. Book four was honestly really good too, and I ate it up quickly despite its length. But the plot developments in book five were really... questionable? Almost as if too many plot threads were spun off the string for a second-to-last book. The protagonist's relationship with the primary female lead is a really underwhelming, unnecessary development (for reasons I can't really get into without spoiling). But I suppose we'll see where it goes from there.
I read a few other books before I want to talk about the great reads (and there are a lot). Warlock Homes and the Hellhound of the Baskervilles, by G.S. Denning, The Body, by Stephen King, From Here to Eternity, by Caitlin Doughty, Earthlings, by Sayaka Murata, The Shadow of Kyoshi, an Avatar: The Last Airbender spinoff prequel by F.C. Yee, The Hungry Cities Quartet (Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices, and A Darkling Plain) by Philip Reeve, and yes... I read Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes. I couldn't help it. With a growing FNAF section in the book store, and with strong memories of the games as they came out, I HAD to check it out, just to see what was inside. Well, now I know; and I don't need a single page further... ha ha.
These are all mostly decent reads, but the real juicy stuff -- the stuff that left an impact on me -- are as follows:
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, by Caitlin Doughty, was an eye-opening, harrowing memoir by one of my favorite YouTubers, Ask a Mortician. Death is a really uncomfortable topic in the western world, but this woman has embraced the cultural importance of death and death practices in her career, and wrote a really amazing little book about her journey in becoming a mortician and working at a crematorium. It's honestly one of my favorite books now, and I want to recommend it to everyone; she has a lot of important wisdom about death that I think many western people -- especially young people -- should really get their hands on and think about.
The Golem and the Jinni, by Hellene Wecker, is now also one of my favorite fantasy novels. It follows a newborn golem (clay being of Jewish myth) crafted to be a sickly man's wife -- and a reawakened Jinni (to say, an elemental demon from Arabic myth), both of which find themselves in 1890's New York City woven into the lives of others while discovering their own. Their story has surprising amount of plot threads and side characters, but I thought their journey into human-hood, and the scope of them as characters and how they interact, had some powerful depth. I honest to god loved every page of this book.
Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo, needs no introduction; it's one of the most popular YA Fantasy/Adventures this side of the bookstore shelf, and you know what? It's well deserved. It and its sequel, Crooked Kingdom, were fantastic reads in a setting I adored (and is scarily like my own!), with a cast I loved and will never forget, topped off with a fun, twisting plot. She somehow handled three YA romance subplots with enough tact and restraint to where I was begging for each of the characters to get together. Also, the blend of early 20th century war, fantasy counterpart cultures embroiled in political intrigue, and strong level of magic not only recalled to me my own novels and fictional world, but the worlds and stories that have affected me enough to where I've taken influence from them. I'm trying to push through her Grishaverse Trilogy as we speak (which for obvious reasons, I like a lot less) so I can get to more of Nina's story in King of Scars. This duology, however, deserve high praise.
I tried to read J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring once when I was in college, and it wasn't doing it for me. I don't think this is the story's fault. It's densely written, and very reliant on expository scenes, and that mixed with some brain-numbing school-year stress just made it a little too thick for me at the time. However I've since finished both it and The Two Towers, to which I think they are exemplary fantasy and it makes sense they're essentially the common ancestor of fantasy today.
But you may be thinking. Austin... what was the best book of the year?
Well, here's a picture.
Dune was, hands down, not only the best book I've read all year, but one of the best books I've read in my life so far. It is in no shortage of top ten lists, nor is it something that needs to be written about any further, as everyone and their mother knows about the book and its movie adaptation later this year. The narrative is filled with unique ideas drawn from history, religion, ecology and other forms of science, tied together and interwoven and jigsaw-puzzled all into a beautiful poetic epic that sets up an effective and powerful Greek tragedy. In space. With drugs and sandworms.
In 2020 I also read Dune Messiah, the sequel, and Children of Dune, the third book in the series. Frank Herbert says those three are essentially a complete trilogy with God Emperor of Dune as a bridge-book between it and the second trilogy, which he never finished. While Dune Messiah and Children of Dune were both not as good as Dune, I do commend the direction of the story and admire the idea of taking the protagonist and using him to show the problem with saviors, leaders, and power in general. Not because it corrupts, but as Herbert puts it, because it "attracts the corruptible." The story after Dune could have been handled a bit better in places, but I liked it all the way through and look forward to God Emperor when I'm done with my absolutely bonkers stash of manga for 2021.
So much praise! But was there a worst book of the year?
Yes. Yes there was.
I'm really punching up here, so I don't feel regret in saying that the fourth Dark Tower novel, Wizard and Glass, is a horrific shitshow. Over 800 pages of a nothing, nonsense, infuriating mess of a plot, with developments I couldn't give less of a shit about and awful awful awful characters. It took me three years off and on to finish this offensively bad volume in the series, and it has soured any interest I had in returning. There is no reason for Roland's backstory to be so long-winded, and even if there was, what we got is a spit in the face for readers expecting something a bit more interesting or nuanced.
I supposed it's bad manners or attempting to foster bad luck as an unpublished author such as myself in talking such mean shit about an existing story, but this man has made more money than I'll ever make in my life and I make no attempt to hide that I love many of his other works.
And I--
I --
...
...
Through dust...
~...~...~...~
...and snow...
...
I read many other books this year for research on my novel series. I wonder. One day when I'm published, will this blog exist? Will fans go searching back through the things I posted here? I suppose, in a hypothetical world where this happens, they'll be able to see some of my inspirations and the kind of stuff I was reading back when I wrote the books. I don't know what the future holds... but for now I can at least share some of the sources of research I've been drawing on for my fantasy novels, by sharing some titles I read for the project. These contain but are not limited to;
Nicomachean Ethics and On Man in the Universe by Artistotle, Artistotle's Way by Edith Hall, On Inequality by Harry Frankfurt, On Tyranny, How Fascism Works, Understanding War, Traveler's Guide to Ancient Egypt, and many many more that will appear in the image below.
I bring up this hypothetical (two paragraphs above) in attempt to make clear some of my intentions in my story before it's revealed to the public. I think a lot of stories are surrounded by speculation for a while about influences/themes and such when the author is quiet about what they are, and I don't know how open I'm gonna be at the time of publishing or if I will be at all, so I suppose to nosy fan can come down in here and see some of the things I wanted to imbue in my multi-book saga that may not be obvious at first. In the future I may have a more professional collection of these topics, but my hope is that if in some case I don't, this little hidden-away thing here will serve as a jumping off point for a reader that wants to know more in hoping to track down some of the story's ideas from where they appear in the real world. As such, here they are. Including, but not limited to;
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- Greek Philosophy (namely the writings/teachings of Plato, Diogenes, Aristotle, and Anaximander)
- Economic Strife/Equality and Inequality
- Fascism, Tyranny, Nationalism, and their implications of prejudice
- Faith, Religion, and the consequence/criticism of such ideas and how they apply to society
- Greek Mythology/Egyptian Mythology/Norse Mythology/Japanese Mythology/Chinese Mythology (and other assorted mythological influences like Hindu, Filipino, German, Irish, etc.)
- Urban Legends and Grimm's Fairy Tales
- War and its affect on the world, "justified" wars (or, in much more frequent cases, unjust wars), and military command, with much influence from WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and the War on Terror
- Early 20th century technology, social movements, wars, and their application to the Steampunk subgenre
- The Fantasy genre and its roots in mythology and pulp fiction
- Eastern Philosophies, namely Buddhist beliefs and Dialectical Monism
- The Gaia Hypothesis
- The Tarot, mainly the Major Arcana
- The Bible, especially the books of Exodus and Genesis
- Ancient Conspiracies, involving many that have to do with Egypt, Spiritualism, and Occultism
- The Arthurian Legend
- The sun and the moon (with myths, legends, and sciences involving them)
- Classic Dystopian Science Fiction (Fahrenheit 451/Brave New World/1984)
There's also a minor focus on pollution, as well as many themes of finding a place to belong, a reason to live, and many many others that I don't actually have time to get into. Maybe putting this right in the post is foolish or uncalled for, but fuck you, my blog my rules.
---
...
~~~...~~~...~~~
Under the sun...
~~~...~~~...~~~
...and moon...
...
...
Huh?
Whose memories are these?
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END COUNT:
•Books: 43
•Magazines: 2
•Graphic Novels: 177
•Movies: 36
•Albums: 4
•Anime: 13
•Television: 14
TOTAL: 289
BEST BOOK: Dune
BEST MOVIE: 1917
BEST MANGA: Attack on Titan
BEST SHOW: Breaking Bad
I hope you all had as fun of a time reading this as I did writing it, and by that I mean your experience was actually enjoyable because writing this when I'm up to my neck in other projects was torture.
See this girl? That's me, working diligently on a lot of very dense projects. Yeah, you heard that right -- I AM STILL WORKING ON THE 2020 MEDIA UPDATE!!! I promise. I have everything I want written for Literature and Manga, but I'm still working on articulating my thoughts on the other categories. Plus, I will need to round up a bunch of the books I bought for the project and take pictures of them.
I'm also writing the Manga Retrospective for Fullmetal Alchemist, as I just recently concluded my re-read of the series, and I also need to take pictures for that one as well.
The thing is, I've been working SUPER hard on my newest manuscript (I'm at 85 pages, 26,000 words!!!) so I haven't exactly had a lot of time for side projects. But don't worry, they're still on my mind, and they're comin. Be patient. Please.
