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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
JulesJones has commented on (14) products
The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fey
by
Alex Epstein
JulesJones
, May 29, 2011
Note: I received a review copy of this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme. Young adult novel about what happened to the sorceress Morgan le Fay between the point in her childhood when her father was murdered by Uther Pendragon, and her return as an adult to trouble her half-brother King Arthur. The book opens at the council of war amongst the Romano-British leaders where Uter (as it's given in the book) first sets eyes on Ygraine, wife of Gorlois. Uter wants Ygraine enough to make war on Gorlois, enough to seek the aid of the magician Merlin -- and with the death of her beloved father, the child Anna finds herself sent to exile by her mother for her own safety. An exile so complete that she must change her name and tell almost no-one who she is when she arrives in Ireland. A safe place with a distant relative proves less than safe when the tribe loses a battle with its neighbours, and Morgan spends years in slavery, learning a little magic openly from the village wisewoman who owns her, and a great deal more magic in secret. Then there is escape, and a few months of peace and study with a new Christian settlement, and then a chance of love with a chieftain's son who can appreciate the knowledge of Roman battle tactics she brings. By the time she is eighteen, Morgan has learnt a great many things, but the one thing she has not learnt is how to let go of the need for vengeance. It has, after all, kept her alive through the dark times... I found the book a bit hard to get into at first, but once I got into the rhythm of the writing I was hooked. Epstein has taken the historical period of 500AD as the basis for his story, a time when the Roman legions had long withdrawn from Britain but many of the British still thought of themselves as Roman. He's drawn on Irish mythology and blended it with modern Wiccan practice to create a believably consistent picture of magic, in a time when both Druid priests and Christian missionaries can draw on the power of the earth, and a young exile can learn to use it to protect herself and the people she loves. The result is a solid addition to the Arthurian legend, covering an area not much touched on, and giving a plausible reason for the adult Morgan le Fay to be who she is. Here she is a strong and sympathetic character, and it's only too easy to understand why she makes the choices she does. The book's been written in such a way that it can be enjoyed both as a free-standing novel suitable for someone not familiar with any of the mythology and literature that has accreted around Arthur, and as a fascinating new contribution to that ongoing literary conversation. An excellent YA fantasy novel that should appeal to adults as well.
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Glide Path
by
Arthur C. Clarke
JulesJones
, June 27, 2010
This is often described as Clarke's non-sf novel, but it has a very similar feel to some of his hard sf. There is the same world building and sense of wonder inspired by science -- but the world he brings to life here was real and recent history. For this novel is a fictionalised account of the development of Ground Control Approach radar during the second world war, and Clarke draws upon his own experience of working on the project to safely talk down aircraft by radar. It might sound dry, but it isn't. Clarke does a fine job on showing both the the technology, and the people who created the technology, with the interplay between different personalities, and the little and large incidents that make up life in a developmental project. The main character's not always that likeable a person, but in a way that makes him a believable viewpoint character rather than a stock hero. There's plenty of dramatic tension, and lighter moments as well, with both clearly being drawn at least in part from Clarke's own experiences. Glide Path is well worth a read for both sf readers and WW2 History buffs.
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Inspector Singh Investigates A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul
by
SHAMINI FLINT
JulesJones
, June 27, 2010
I was recently offered review copies of the second and third books in the Inspector Singh Investigates series by Shamini Flint, about a Sikh detective in the Singapore police force. I was pleased to accept, as I thought that the first book was very enjoyable, if flawed. I'm very happy to say that the second book, A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul, makes good on the promise shown by the first. The story's just as good, but the writing's much smoother in this episode of the Inspector's adventures, without the choppy pacing and info-dumping of the first in the series. The character of Inspector Singh is a wonderful concept, and this book offers a plot to do him justice. Singh's a good detective, with a track record in catching killers, but he doesn't fit into the current force culture. So once again inspector Singh's senior officers are only too glad to get him out of their hair by volunteering him as their contribution to a major police investigation in a neighbouring country. In this book the country is Bali, and the crime is once again murder, but this time on a large scale. As the book opens, he's feeling frustrated because for all his skill at catching killers he has no experience relevant to the investigation of a terrorist attack. But soon there is work for him, for Flint has taken the real life tragedy of the Bali bombings, and added a separate murder mystery. One of the skull fragments recovered from the bomb site has a bullet hole through it. One of the dead was already dead at another's hand *before* the bomb went off. Singh might be a fifth wheel on the bomb investigation, but murder on the individual scale is a completely different matter. He takes on the task of finding justice for the one victim out of dozens he can help in death. His temporary assistant this time out is an Australian policewoman from the bomb investigation team. Bronwyn Taylor has also been sidelined by her superiors for perceived insubordination, and her expert area is Indonesian language and culture, not murder. Her personality is far from a perfect match for Singh's and he often finds her irritating, but nevertheless the two make a good team for this case. The book's viewpoint moves around between disparate groups who have had their lives disrupted by the bombing. The primary focus is the two police officers; but there is also a group of rather unappealing British and Australian ex-pats, one of whom has been missing since the bomb, a small group of Indonesian Muslims from another island, and of course some of the local Bali people, both within the police force and without. Singh and Taylor have a long slog piecing together the clues, even after an early breakthrough in identifying the shooting victim, but gradually the different threads they hold start to twine together, leading to a thrilling climax. It would be very easy for a book using this subject to slip into exploitation, but Flint treats it with great sensitivity. One of the strengths of the first book was the way Flint showed multiple culture clashes from multiple angles, and this book develops the same themes. There is no demonising of any one group, and there is a thoughtful examination of how and why the different groups are motivated to behave as they do. The book is often gently funny and relatively light in tone even though it's using such a grim background and tackles some serious subjects. This can be a difficult balancing act to pull off, but this book does it well. As with the first book, Singh himself is a marvellous character, and the other characters are well drawn. Team this with a good story and an evocative description of Bali, and you've got a book that's well worth your time. I'm looking forward to reading the third book, which is set in Flint's current home, Singapore.
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Union Club Mysteries
by
Isaac Asimov
JulesJones
, January 02, 2010
This anthology collected the first 30 stories from a monthly series of mystery shorts Asimov wrote for Eric Potter at Gallery magazine. The frame story for the series is a group of four men who sit together at their club. One of their number claims to have a background in intelligence, and has a habit of telling stories about problems he has solved for the police and intelligence services. The problems are typically in the form of lateral thinking puzzles, and Griswold invariably finishes by commenting that the answer was obvious, and waiting for his companions to admit that they can't work it out before giving them the answer (thus also giving the reader a chance to try to work it out before the answer is revealed). With only 2000 words to play with each month, the stories are of necessity fairly pared down and low on characterisation. They're often great fun, and I find it entertaining to watch the ongoing frame story about the narrator and his two friends trying to decide whether Griswold is telling the truth about his past or pulling their legs; but if you don't like bad puns you won't like a fair few of these little mysteries, and some of them have dated badly. I enjoyed the collection, though it's more of a book for dipping into occasionally than reading all the way through in one sitting. I find them excellent for when I want something that will occupy me for five or ten minutes without making it difficult for me to put down the book at the end of a chapter. The collection has kept me entertained through more than a few bouts of 3 am insomnia when I wanted something light and short to focus on that I could put down again as soon as I felt sleepy. It's not really worth going to a lot of effort to lay hands on a copy, but if one comes your way it's well worth trying a few of the stories.
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Jade Man's Skin
by
Daniel Fox
JulesJones
, December 19, 2009
(Reviewed from an ARC.) Daniel Fox keeps up the quality and the pace in the second volume of his fantasy trilogy inspired by mediaeval China. The first volume, "Dragon In Chains", told the tale of the boy Emperor's flight from a rebel army, and the stories of some of those touched by the war. Now the Emperor has reached safety on the remote island of Taishu on the very fringe of the Empire. Taishu may be remote, but no would-be usurper can afford to leave the Emperor there in exile. The island holds the jade mines that are the source of imperial power -- and in this world, that isn't just symbolic. This volume explores in greater depth the subtle magic that underpins imperial rule. And there is more than imperial magic. There are other intelligences in this world, and the human forces which are arrayed against one another are starting to learn just what it means to tangle such creatures into human battles. It's hard to review this book in any depth without giving major spoilers for the first one (which I've reviewed previously), because this trilogy really is a single novel in three volumes, not a series of three interlinked novels. But what I can say is that it follows each of the major characters and threads from the first volume, developing each strand of the story in a satisfying way. This is no wish-fulfillment story wherein the Hero is noble simply because he is the Hero, but a careful consideration of the cumulative effects of power -- on those who have it, whether in name only or in reality, on those who desire it, and on those who are simply in its path. And like the first volume, it neither flinches from showing the horror of war, nor wallows in gratuituous gore. This is a complex story with equally complex characters, which genuinely needs the three volumes to do justice to the tales it has to tell. But it's beautifully constructed, and told in stunningly good prose. If you've not read the first book, don't start with this one. It really is worth your while finding "Dragon in Chains" and reading that first, not least because part of the pleasure is watching how the characters are changing and growing in response to the upheavals in their world. But there's no need to wait for the final book to come out, as "Jade Man's Skin" offers enough intermediate resolution of plot threads to leave a reader feeling satisfied while still wanting to hear the end of the story. Go buy them now -- this series is breathtaking, in concepts, in story and in prose.
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Stationary Ark
by
Gerald Durrell
JulesJones
, August 22, 2009
Nowadays, a good many zoos are seriously involved in conservation work, the last hope for some of the most endangered species on the planet. In the 1970s, that wasn't the case. This book was Durrell's polemic against the keeping of wild animals purely for entertainment purposes, an impassioned plea for things to change. In a series of seven essays he set out the case for zoological gardens to be genuine centres of scientific excellence devoted to the preservation and breeding of the animals in their care, and described the work of the zoo he had set up for this purpose. He made himself highly unpopular in some quarters with his stinging criticism of then-current practice, not least because it's well and entertainingly written, a successful appeal to the public at large to support his campaign. The first chapter is a little dry, but after that this is a fascinating description of the work of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. Funny, moving, and utterly devoted to the animals without ever lapsing into saccharine sentiment, this is well worth a read.
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Agency
by
Ally Obrien
JulesJones
, April 19, 2009
Note: I received an ARC of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme. Tess Drake is a high-flying literary agent on the staff of a top entertainment agency. Sufficiently high-flying that she wants to branch out on her own, rather than continue to take a salary that's a fraction of the money she brings into the business. As the novel opens, she's just been given one final push in that direction by the death of her boss. Tess liked Lowell; she loathes Cosima, the woman who's about to take over, and the feeling's mutual. The problem for Tess is that she's made more enemies than just Cosima along the way to success. She's left frantically trying to put together her new business without letting slip what she's doing, in the middle of the uproar generated by Lowell's death from auto-erotic asphyxiation. Oh, and then there's the police investigation into the suggestion that Lowell's death wasn't an accident, and that Tess might have had something to do with it. It's fast, funny, and more than a little over the top. It's also unashamedly for an adult audience, as is obvious right from the first page. There is swearing and there is sex, and most of it is there for genuine plot and character development reasons. There's also a lot of acidly funny commentary on the entertainment business, with much dropping of real names to add to the realism. Tess is often unlikeable, but she's also aware of her flaws, and there's real growth in her character during the book. She's also fiercely loyal to a few people for more than commercial reasons, and genuinely regrets the damage she's accidentally caused to relationships she valued. The book's a blend of chick-lit and mystery, and does a good job of both, but is not going to appeal to everyone. I can see why the reviews on LibraryThing range from loathing to loving it. For me personally it was a page-turner, and while I sometimes wanted to shake some sense into Tess, by the last few chapters I very much wanted her to break free of the trap that had been laid for her. The novel is complete in itself and does have a satisfying ending, but I'd love to see what happened next. I'd gladly read a sequel to this book.
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Slow Decay Torchwood
by
Andy Lane
JulesJones
, May 14, 2008
This is one of the trio of tie-in novels released for the first season of Torchwood, and is set early in that season, after Gwen's settled in but before Cyberwoman. Tie-in novels can disappoint, but this is a solid story that's well-written and that fits the Torchwood universe well; a dark tale about the things that come through the Rift and their misuse by the locals. It's actually better than the first couple of tv episodes, because the sex and violence is used to good effect in the story, rather than feeling as if it's tossed in just to see how far the show can go in a post-watershed slot. There are two interweaving plots here. The main plot concerns an outbreak of killings involving cannibalism, and their link to a very dubious weight-loss clinic. The team's hunt for the solution is given added urgency when Gwen realises that Rhys has taken one of the clinic's pills. The minor plot concerns Tosh's research into a series of alien devices. There's good exposition and world-building, and I think this book will work for someone who hasn't yet seen the show. The characterisation's not that deep, but it's not bad for an early tie-in where even an author who's a fan or involved with the show's production wouldn't have had much to go on, and it's accurate. With one exception there's not much reference to specific events in the tv series, and even the exception is blended in nicely as something that will be simply a character quirk to people who haven't seen the relevant episode. The book focuses strongly on the relationship between Gwen and Rhys (and does so very nicely), but generally doesn't neglect the rest of the team. There are some decent bits for particular characters: Tosh gets a decent word count, even if she spends it being girl geek as usual; there's a good storyline for Owen where circumstances force him to interact with an attractive woman as a person, rather than just a shag. On the other hand, Ianto's barely mentioned; but when you do see him he's spending a lot of time lurking in the remote archives and discouraging other team members from wandering into them, which is appropriate for this point in his storyline, and he gets some good interaction with Tosh. Physically, it's a hardcover with a perfect-bound book block, which is what you'd expect at this price point for a hardback. It's solidly constructed with no loose pages, and there's a good cover design which links in with the other two books in the set. Designer Lee Binding's done a nice job with stock art here. Slow Decay is a good read for both the plot and the characterisation, and I expect I'll be re-reading it soon. Well worth the money.
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Old Man's War
by
John Scalzi
JulesJones
, February 24, 2008
I'd been hearing good things about this book for a while, so when it was mentioned as one of the incentives to sign up for Tor's new online promotion material, I went straight over to give them my email address. The link for the OMW download arrived just before lunch. I didn't intend to read it then and there, but flicked through the file to make sure it had downloaded properly. Had my attention snagged by some of the dialogue in the first chapter. Decided to read the first chapter while I was reading lunch. I read the whole book. It's *that* good at getting you to turn the pages. It's a Heinlein pastiche, primarily influenced by Starship Troopers but with significant nods to some other books, particularly Space Cadet. But it's an original and interesting riff on those themes, not a knock-off. Here it's not the young men but the old men who go to war, and there are some well thought out reasons as to why. The basis of the book is that the Colonial Defense Force has rejuvenation technology, and if you live on Earth the only way you can get access to it is to sign up to be a soldier when you turn 75. One-time only offer, use it or lose it. Nobody on Earth knows exactly what the technology is or does, because part of the sign-up deal is that you are declared legally dead on Earth, and can never, ever return. Oh, and you're signing for a term of at least two years, and up to ten -- and while little detail comes back to Earth about the colonies, it's clear that soldiering is a risky business. John Perry's got nothing to lose. He and his wife made the decision to register as potential recruits when they turned 65. She's dead now, and there aren't any other ties strong enough to hold him to Earth. So he enlists in the old man's war, and finds out just what's out there on the other side of the sky. It turns out to involve a lot of hostile aliens and a multi-way battle for territory that can get very, very nasty indeed. Perry's a decent and likeable man, and it's fascinating to watch him go through the process of being moulded into a soldier. While this is military sf that makes no bones about it sometimes being necessary to fight to live, it isn't a lazy glorification of the military. You could equally well read it as a subtle critique of unthinking glorification of the military. There are some significant moral issues raised in a quiet way and simply left there for the reader to think about if they notice them. There's a good and funny look at what it means to be old, followed by an exploration of what happens when a mind with 75 years of experience gets a new body that's not just fifty years younger, but seriously tuned for performance. And there's some thoughtful discussion of identity and what it means to be human that makes the book more than just a romp. But it's also a very fine romp, and enormous fun to read. I do have a couple of criticisms. Perry is both smart and lucky, as befits an action hero, even a 75 year old action hero. But his rapid rise through the ranks and special shininess edge a little too close to blatant Mary Sue territory in places. Yes, it's a pastiche of the pulp style, but it broke willing suspension of disbelief a couple of times, at least for me. And I found the ending a little too abrupt, feeling as if Scalzi had simply run out of story for now. However, there are two more books in this universe, and I was left wanting to go out and buy them. (There is also one specific issue which bothered me a *lot*, but it bothers me for personal reasons which won't pertain to most readers -- see Nicholas Whyte's detailed post on the Bender episode: http://nhw.livejournal.com /642176.html plus the discussion in the comments thread for why that scene is the way it is and why some of us still think it comes over as a bone tossed to the more rabid "peaceniks are dumb" milsf fans. Lots of spoilers.) If you're a Heinlein fan, this book's well worth reading. But it works in its own right as well, whether or not you've ever read any of the books it's influenced by. If you're looking for some milsf with some decent science fiction speculation, this one's worth a look.
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From Eroica With Love Volume 2
by
Aoike Yasuko
JulesJones
, May 01, 2007
The second volume of the long-running manga series sees it settle down into the general series theme, with flamboyant art thief Eroica and uptight NATO intelligence agent Iron Klaus finding their paths repeatedly crossing, sometimes as opponents, sometimes having to work together. Set in the Cold War Europe of the 1970s, it shows a pair of characters who are on opposite sides of the law and very different in personality, but with some surprising things in common. Alas, one of those things is not sexual orientation, and Eroica's romantic interest in Klaus is destined to remain unrequited, providing the source of much fun during the series. And there's plenty of fun to be had. The stories are completely over the top, in the same way that the Bond films are over the top -- camp, very funny, and with plenty of action. In this one, Eroica and Klaus have a shared interest in a Greek shipping tycoon. Eroica wants to steal an art treasure, and Klaus wants to stop a KGB agent's honeytrap operation. This leads on to a second adventure in which Klaus is trying to protect world leaders at a meeting which just happens to be just down the road from Eroica's castle -- and for perfectly rational reasons, Klaus ends up ordering Eroica to strip and hand over his underpants... But when they're forced by circumstances to work together, they make a very good team. Flawed but likeable people, they're enormously entertaining to watch, as are the secondary characters. Both men have a team of minions, not all of whom are quite what their masters would wish for. This volume introduces Agent G, Klaus' gay cross-dressing agent who has a crush on Eroica. There's also an independent story to fill out the page count, about a strait-laced young German man sent on a cultural exchange visit to a tiny island nation with a very strange navy. There's not much plot, and there's an awful lot of froth, but it's a quick fun read with a serious point underneath the fluff.
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Modesty Blaise
by
Peter O'Donnell
JulesJones
, March 22, 2007
Modesty Blaise started life as a cartoon strip, but O'Donnell then put his creation into novel form, and did a superb job in both formats. This is the first novel in the series, and introduces the setting and most of the main characters. Modesty Blaise is a former refugee and survivor of the terrible disruptions caused by the war, and as a child drifted across Eastern Europe and the Middle East in the company of an old professor. She had to be tough to survive; but her companion instilled in her a strong moral code. She took over a small criminal gang and built it up into a powerful criminal organisation infused with that moral code--they never touched drugs or vice, and occasionally co-operated with the police and intelligence services to help clean up such crimes. She retired a wealthy woman at the age of 24. As the novel opens, Modesty and her friend and former second-in-command Willie Garvin are finding that retirement is boring and adrenaline an addiction they cannot shake. Sir Gerald Tarrant, the head of British Intelligence, exploits that addiction to recruit them for an intelligence operation for which they are peculiarly suited. What follows is a thrilling caper novel pitting Modesty and Willie against a bizarre criminal mastermind. Tight plotting and wonderful prose make this a very entertaining read, with a unique pair of heroes. It's wonderful to see Souvenir Press reissuing the novels, making them available again to both a new generation of fans and those with fond memories.
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Shout Out Loud 03
by
Satosumi Takaguchi
JulesJones
, March 21, 2007
Third in a five part series about a long-separated father and son getting to know each other while trying to deal with new relationships. Nakaya's got a bad crush on the ice hockey coach, and tries to do something about it. He ends up asking his father's advice on what happens if you find yourself attracted to another man -- but Shino's struggling with the same question himself. Shino's colleague Tenryu has made his own feelings clear, and Shino's found himself responding. After finishing the first half of their current anime series the voice actors go for a weekend break at a spa resort, giving ample opportunity for squabbling and seduction attempts -- none of which go according to plan. By the end of the book Shino faces the fact that he might finally be falling in love again, for the first time since he lost Nakaya's mother. As with the first two books in the series, it's more about the story than the sex -- this volume does ramp up the steaminess, but the men and the book don't go all the way. There's some nice foreplay and kissing, but the real joy is in the humour and the way the various relationships develop. It's gentle but it's not pure fluff -- for example, Tenyru's dealing with a nasty divorce and faces losing contact with his daughter -- which makes it all the better. It's possible to follow the plot in this one with just a synopsis of the previous volumes, but I'd strongly recommend reading the first two volumes first -- you'll get a lot more out of it if you've already got to know the characters.
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Shout Out Loud Volume 2
by
Satosumi Takaguchi
JulesJones
, March 21, 2007
Second of a five part yaoi manga series about a long-separated father and son trying to build a relationship while dealing with other upheavals in their lives. Shino's an anime voice actor. Now he has a son to support, he's started taking on any roles he's offered -- including yaoi audio dramas. Nakaya's a teenager not quite old enough to be independent, but old enough to be initially very uncomfortable with his father's job. It doesn't really help that he's noticed the interest some of Shino's colleagues are showing in him, even if the unworldly Shino hasn't. This volume sees some development in the various plotlines set up in volume 1. Shino may be innocent, but even he can't help noticing when his colleague Mizusawa invites him home and then kisses him very thoroughly. And passing it off as a bad case of bringing the job home stops working when Mizusawa and Tenryu start squabbling over him on a live radio show. Especially when Tenryu mentions having kissed Shino when Shino got drunk and passed out one night... Nakaya is trying to protect his father's virtue, but he's distracted by his own problems, not least of which is getting a crush on one of the ice hockey coachs. As with the first volume, the focus is on story and character development rather than sex, although the UST gets a bit less U in this one. There are several well-developed characters here and a number of potential relationships hinted at for both Shino and Nakaya. It's a sweet and often very funny story that kept me reading, guessing at how things might play out. The sex is limited to kissing, but is none the worse for that. The artwork is beautiful, and includes quite a selection of hot guys. Once again this series scores highly on both the eye candy and brain candy. It's possible to pick up the story with this volume, but I'd strongly recommend starting with the first volume in the series.
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Shout Out Loud 01
by
Satosumi Takaguchi
JulesJones
, March 07, 2007
First of what is apparently a five volume series. The first three parts are now available in English translation; the remaining two parts are scheduled for release in April and August. Orphaned 17-year-old Nakaya goes looking for long-last father, expecting to find a burnt-out salaryman, and instead gets a baby-faced 33-year-old who makes a living as an anime voice actor. Finding himself with an unexpected son to support just as his current series is finishing, Shino tells his agency he'll take any job. What he gets offered is roles in boys love audio dramas -- and as becomes clear to the reader and eventually Nakaya, but not (yet) Shino, two of Shino's co-workers are gay and have the hots for Shino. There's a good story in this book; the primary focus in the first volume is father and son getting to know each other (no, not in that way). Nakaya's mother fell pregnant when she and Shino were teenagers, and she chose to leave Shino to stop him sacrificing his education to look after them. Now they have to build a relationship, at a time when both are grieving, and Nakaya is having to make decisions about his own education. It doesn't help that Nakaya's grandmother has never forgiven Shino for getting her daughter pregnant, and doesn't want Nakaya living with Shino. Along with this, there's a look at the voice acting industry, and Shino's developing relationships with two of his fellow actors -- platonic on Shino's side, but not on theirs. And then there's Nakaya's teacher, who is also gay and has a thing for nice voices... The erotic content in this volume is mostly in the scripts Shino and his colleagues are working on, though there's one very nice kiss. If you're looking for hardcore you'll be disappointed, but fans of UST should enjoy this one. The cover's a bit disappointing, but don't let that put you off, as the interior art is much more attractive. Note that it's a lot less bishounen in style than many (which matches my own preferences). I liked this a lot. There's an interesting story with relationships that develop over time, there's a lot of gentle humour, it's nicely drawn, and the guys are hot.
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