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Review: The White Tiger

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The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga My rating: 3 of 5 stars News outlets keep telling us how, despite the great leaps made by science and technology, despite globalization and relative global peace, in our current world, wealth disparity is at its worst. Where, on one end we see billionaires (and unreported oil trillionaires) whose total assets exceed the GDP of small and some medium sized nations. Ones who can afford to purchase ludicrously exorbitant eccentricities, have entire private nation states under their command, can control the economies of the world and remake it according to their (often naive) whims. And when the end of civilization becomes apparent, the only ones will be fully stocked and furnished bunkers and lifeboats, all ready to create a new dystopian post-apocalyptic new world order. Think 2012, but with less CGI and a lot more suffering. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who work 3 or more jobs, jumping through hoop
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Review: Gyo

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Gyo by Junji Ito My rating: 5 of 5 stars Warning: This story contains mature, graphic body horror; Not for snowflakes. Reader discretion required. A man going out on a swim, encounters a mysterious fish. When he returns to land, he finds that the fish has followed him home; one its four legs. Yes, the fish has legs and is walking on land. Jaws, stand aside. Believe me when I say, this is the least horrifying thing one would be subjected to, when reading Ito Junji's Gyo. Even though this is par for course, for those who've Connosseur'd the horror maestro's previous works, such as Uzumaki or Tomie . But Ito Sensei seems to have taken the gross horror to a new plane. Now it seems we should not only be afraid of that which lurks in the shadows; but also, those that dwell in the depths. If H.P. Lovecraft, one of the mangaka's inspirations in horror, were to somehow get a copy of this book in the afterlife, he would be r
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Review: Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin, Volume 1

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Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin, Volume 1 by Fehu Kazuno My rating: 4 of 5 stars If civilization (the game), has a few Starcraft Zerg spawns, and they're led by the Lich King Arthas from Warcraft. That is a good definition of the tonality that one might expect when reading the story. I found a lot of parallels between Mynoghra and Overlord, in terms of the socially inept protagonist, surrounded by a bevy of overtly loyal, overpowered subordinates. As well as the occasional flashes of darkness that they display. To us, who are privy to the thoughts of our characters, they're just a ragtag group trying to survive and thrive. But to those who are unfortunate enough to end up on the opposite side as them, you'd imagine they represent the Cthulhu cultists, with their patron God in tow. Amidst all the city building, fighting and planning, there is a subtle thread of something dark and sinister, a
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Review: Batman: Justice Buster, Vol. 1

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Batman: Justice Buster, Vol. 1 by Eiichi Shimizu My rating: 4 of 5 stars This title has been something I've been putting off for a while now; mostly because I wasn't sure what to expect, in a Manga version of Batman. Once I started reading though, it was pleasantly better than I'd expected. After the first 3 chapters, I began to even wonder why it took so long to get this crossover of the Batman mythos with the black and white manga aesthetic. Which fits the mysterious gothic dark and gritty atmosphere of Gotham like a Bat glove. The characters and their body language, especially their facial expressions would remind you of the mystery investigative manga stories, like 鴨乃橋ロンの禁断推理 Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri , which also I'm thinking to resuming after this. It introduces the readers to the world of Gotham & Batman, presupposing that you have a generic familiarity with the mythos. It follows the canon at many places, but at tim
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Review: ഉദകപ്പോള | Udakappola

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ഉദകപ്പോള | Udakappola by P. Padmarajan My rating: 5 of 5 stars There are a few multi-talented personalities in the long, storied history of Indian arts and literature. One who has made their mark on several fields to varying acclaim, is the celebrated and adored versatile Indian auteur Satyajit Ray. A prodigious artist, who has made his mark not only in films, but writing and other fields, venturing into the then niche genres such as sci-fi with an Indian sensibility, as early as the 1960s. An artist who worked along the same path as Ray, in the southern regional sphere, is the often underrated, but now adored Malayalam filmmaker P. Padmarajan; or പപ്പേട്ടൻ as those in the state adoringly called him. Someone who’s thoughts, visions and cinematic sensibilities, often traveled ahead of his times. Which might be a major reason why, during his own lifetime, he gained little recognition for his work. The people he worked with, as well as like minded coll
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Review: 後遺症ラジオ 1 [Kouishou Radio 1]

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後遺症ラジオ 1 [Kouishou Radio 1] by Masaaki Nakayama My rating: 4 of 5 stars PTSD Radio, a horror manga where the circumstances surrounding its publication is arguably more interesting than the story itself. Not to mean that the story itself is necessarily bad. It doesn’t so much as scare you, as it creeps you out, with its eerie atmosphere, mysterious happenings, and a narrative which unfolds in piecemeal. Oftentimes, stories which began in one chapter are left unfinished, until another segment is added to its plot somewhere down the line, leaving you with crumbs which you have to assemble and make sense of. Also, in line with the title, the chapters, and oftentimes themes of the story are notated with references to radio frequencies. As the older generations who used the old analog type radio are sure to remember, much like how stations at different frequencies go in and out of focus as you tune the device, just so we see every day glimpses of the insid
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Review: Remina

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Remina by Junji Ito My rating: 4 of 5 stars Warning; Viewer discretion Advised. Story contains graphic content, body horror, cosmic horror, and other disturbing content. You know those old tales of cosmic horror, the Lovecraftian eldritch gods, whose merely psychic presence was enough to drive men insane; whose inevitable arrival would mean the end of all reality? Well, Junji Ito's Remina gives you of a good approximation as to what that might actually look like. When a mysterious new planet is discovered on the dark side of a wormhole, the scientist who discovered it, named it after his daughter. Soon after, as if drawn to their discovery, the planet, appearing as if it has a will of its own, begin racing across galactic distances, straight towards earth, consuming other celestial bodies in its path. Naturally, this causes mass hysteria, civil unrest and rioting amongst the earth's populace; largely directed towards the one convenient ta
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Review: Smashed

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Smashed by Junji Ito My rating: 4 of 5 stars Content Warning: Graphic violence, blood, gore, body horror; viewer discretion advised Comprised of an anthology of 13 stories, Smashed by the master himself, is a mixed coterie, which doesn't as often delve into the body horror and the macabre which has at this point become synonymous with Junji sensei. It's a bit all over the place, with each story delivering the minimum Ito quality of creepy horror, which leaves you disturbed. __________________________ List of Stories 1. Bloodsucking Darkness 2. Ghosts of Prime time 3. Roar 4. Earthbound 5. Death Row Doorbell 6. The mystery of the haunted house 7. The mystery of the haunted house: Soichi’s Version 8. Soichi’s Beloved Pet 9. In Mirror Valley 10. I don’t want to be a ghost 11. Library Vision 12. Splendid Shadow Song 13. Smashed __________________ Out of the collection, I liked the stories 'Earthbound', 'In Mirror Valley' as we
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Review: Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture

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Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture by Ram V. My rating: 4 of 5 stars A good start for a new series. I've been out of the loop for the latest happenings in the Batman Mythology; and I here there were some major events. So, it's refreshing to see the old characters you know and love, presented in a new light, having to grip with the reality of their changing city. A major strength of the Batman mythos, I've always felt, was how the setting of Gotham, with its gothic architecture, dark crime ridden alleys, the coterie of villains, and the gamut of humanity running from good to bad to worse, offered up a wealth of stories, past and present to mine from. One of the best examples for this from recent publication is the brilliantly written Batman, Volume 1: The Court of Owls (While I write this, I realize that the Court of Owls was published nearly 12 years ago; Damn I'm getting old). I was looking forwards to what
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Review: Visappu Pranayam Unmadam | വിശപ്പ് പ്രണയം ഉന്മാദം

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Visappu Pranayam Unmadam | വിശപ്പ് പ്രണയം ഉന്മാദം by Muhammed Abbas My rating: 5 of 5 stars കുറിപ്പ്: മലയാളത്തിലുള്ള നിരൂപണത്തിനു കുറച്ചു കൂടി കാത്തിരിക്കുക There are people out there in this world, who live at the most deplorable existence; barely able to tide over day to day, with a half-full stomach, and a leaking roof over their heads. This is something you and I know, as well as see in mundane life. It might be during your daily commute to work, or while on a trip with family and friends, or just randomly when you’re on and about. In most cases we tend to give them our attention perhaps for a scant few moments, until which time, our minds, the brilliant attention seeker that it is, would’ve switched over to some other thing which caught our interest. Rarely do we sit and ponder deeply about what brought them to such states, what their daily lives and struggles are, what their dreams and aspirations are. While we might possess lofty aspiration
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