Vagabond (manga series) - Takehiko Inoue

Full disclosure - I did not make it through this entire series. I only read through volume 11 out of 37. The manga itself is based off the novel "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa. The theme of the manga is a fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, a Japanese swordsman. Coincidentally, I started reading this around the time one of my favorite bands, Sabaton, released the song The Duelist, which is about Musashi. Pretty cool!

So I pretty much already said what this was about. In the first 11 volumes, I saw Takezo (his original name) go around fighting people. He meets up with warriors and also people from his past. But for me, this manga dragged a bit too much. There were a lot of panels where nothing really happened, and in general, I wasn't as interested in the story as I thought I was going to be.

I wouldn't say this was boring. The pace was just too slow and didn't appeal to me personally. I'll move on to something else.

Smoky-House - Elizabeth Goudge

Earlier this month, we were in San Diego for a conference. While my husband spent the day at the convention center, I spent a couple days wandering the streets trying to find something cool to bring home. I actually went to a bookstore, but it was California prices ($5 for used Hardy Boys books is insane!), but I did find my jam in a comic book store. They had a bookshelf of oddball paperbacks, and I ended up bringing home five books from them.

The summary for this one is basically a Fiddler comes to Faraway and threatens the ideal life the villagers lead. The children have to save everyone, but they won't be able to do it without the help of their two dogs, Spot and Sausage, and their donkey, Mathilda. It's also going to take a bit of magic!

This book was not what I was expecting. It reminded me a bit of Narnia, with the talking animals, but the people couldn't understand the animals. I loved the magical elements, and the free traders. There's little bits of wisdom in there, and the end was super sweet.

When I picked this up, I thought the cover and the summary were strange and goofy. The inside turned out to be a pretty good book! It was unusual and entertaining all at the same time! I don't see it available in digital form, and I think that's a shame. I think it would be a neat book for kids. At least it could've been back when kids read adventure stories. I'm not as sure about today. Good Book! 

Dr. Stone #2 - Riichiro Inagaki

I read the first volume of this last June and decided I needed to put it on my list. I also recently got a chance to check out a few of the manga I was interested in on Netflix (in anime form), and I checked out Dr. Stone. I found Taiju a bit much. He's very high energy in the manga, which is fine, but listening to him shout all the time on the show was too much for me. I decided reading the manga might be a better idea.

In this second volume, the fight against Tsukasa continues. Also, there are more people alive, and Senku and the others want to meet up with them before Tsukasa gets to them. Gunpowder is the key, but will it be enough to stop such a strong opponent?

This story just doesn't stop impressing me. I love the science used, but I'm such a nerd, that's not surprising. I love the way it's used and the way Senku thinks multiple steps ahead. I'm a bit jealous of that. I've never been good at that, which is why I suck at chess.

I'm ready to dive into more of this, but I haven't quite decided how I want to do it. With Berserk, it was easy to break it up into one tome a month, but these are smaller, and there are more of them. I'm going to put some thought into it and see what I come up with. One thing's for sure - there's more Dr. Stone in my future! Get Excited! Good Manga!

The Spine of the World (Paths of Darkness #2) - R. A. Salvatore

The saga of Drizzt's friend, Wulfgar, continues in this book. It mainly focused on Wulfgar and a young woman named Meralda.

Wulfgar is still struggling with his demons and ends up in Luskan. He's basically a bouncer for an inn and has become a violent drunk. He's picked up the attention of some pretty shady characters in town, and that's going to upset his plans to stay in a drunken stupor.

In a nearby fiefdom, Meralda has caught the eye of the Lord Feringal. She's madly in love with a local boy, Jaka. When she's faced with the choice between the two men, she has to choose duty over love. Her mother's life is on the line. But Wulfgar gets caught up in the middle of her mess.

At the end, Wulfgar has a couple new ladies (one is older than the other) coming with him to Waterdeep. They're looking to find the Sea Sprite and track down something important that's been taken from Wulfgar.

While this book focused on Wulfgar, I still liked it. I was curious how Meralda was going to become relevant to the story, but I never doubted that she would. I'm looking forward to the third and final book in the trilogy, Sea of Swords. Good Book!

The Silent Blade (Paths of Darkness #1) - R. A. Salvatore

I thought it was time to start another Drizzt series. Originally, this series had four books in it, but Servant of the Shard was moved to the Sellswords trilogy.

In this one, Wulfgar is struggling with the memories of his time with the demon Errtu. He strikes Catti-brie and decides enough is enough. He needs to head out on his own and try to defeat his inner demons himself. Meanwhile, Drizzt, Catti-brie, Bruenor and Regis are taking the Crystal Shard to the wizard Cadderly to have it destroyed. It's not fond of that idea, though, and calls to creatures of all types to stop the group.

Jarlaxle and Artemis are also causing issues. Artemis is bored in Calimport and has a target on his back, but Jarlaxle provides a needed distraction. He also promises the only thing Artemis really wants: a rematch with Drizzt. He needs that final fight with no interference and no magic so he'll finally be able to learn who's the better fighter.

As usual, this book was great. I'm starting to root for Drizzt and Catti-brie, but that's probably a bad idea. I kind of want to look up if that's worth rooting for, but I'm not going to. Also, Catti-brie was engaged to Wulfgar, so it's tricky to lean in that direction. Artemis really needs to find a different hobby, and I have a soft spot for Jarlaxle and his super cool hat. Ready for the next one, The Spine of the World! Good Book!

Berserk #42 - Kentaro Miura

(The big jump in numbers comes from the fact that up to this point, I was reading from the deluxe versions that combined multiple episodes into a single volume.)

I was very interested to see what this first episode after the death of the creator would look like. Casca finally has her mind free, and I could see what would happen with her and Guts. 

Or not. Chaos ensues. Griffith pops up, linked with the Moonlight Boy in a way I didn't really understand until now. The entire island of Elfheim is destroyed, and all the magical creatures have to leave. And Casca is taken away. ARGH! Guts has lost hope, and I feel his pain. I was so disappointed and sad at the end of this volume.

I have no idea when the next one is coming out in English, but I'm keeping an eye out for it. One day, these people will get it together. I believe! It's still getting labeled Good Manga! Even though I'm struggling with patience, I absolutely love the story.

The Unlikely War Hero - Marc Leepson

The Hanoi Hilton was not a place you wanted to be during the Vietnam War. Doug Hegdahl fell off his ship and ended up a prisoner of war. While he was in the Hoa Lo Prison, he hid his intelligence from his captors, which earned him additional freedoms within the camp. This book tells his story.

It also tells a lot of other stories. The best way I could describe it is to say it reminded me of Dug from the movie Up. Every time a new place, ship, or person popped into the story, I took a side trip to explore everything about it. That trip would break the timeline, and many times, take the story far away from Doug himself.

When Doug was released, two others were with him. One of them immediately tried to vanish from the spotlight, and the other was very involved with trying to keep a spotlight on freeing POWs. Doug was in and out of it for years. Eventually, he faded away so that even his friends had a hard time getting in touch with him. It made me wonder if he'd be happy with a book about him.

Overall, it wasn't really what I was expecting. I was looking for a book focused on Doug, and it felt like he was a side character in his own book. It was disappointing for me, but I did learn a lot about other things!