The Man who Never was

The Book of Five Rings: A Graphic Novel by Miyamoto Musashi My rating: 3 of 5 stars A good graphic novel adaptation of the simple yet informative treatise by Miyamoto Musashi. It was not as kinetic as you'd expect; but the serene almost Zen like artwork meshes well with the spiritual nature of Musashi's work, especially highlighting the wizened sage like austerity he seemed to imbibe during his twilight years. This would be a good companion piece for those who've just finished reading the original text, to reinforce its teachings. View all my reviews

Animal Farm: The Graphic Novel by Odyr My rating: 4 of 5 stars “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” ― George Orwell, Animal Farm Whenever anyone starts talking about some of the most relevant & enduring works of the 20th century, one would be remiss if not mentioning the works of George Orwell such as 1984 & Animal farm. And for good reason. If learning history teaches us not to repeat our past mistakes, then Orwell is the man who has distilled tomes upon tomes worth of philosophical, ideological & political thoughts into a manner which is easily digestible to the laymen, without needing to delve into the manifestos which govern those political ideologies. One need not read a hundred or so political treatises by historians or analysts regarding the rise & fall of communism in its flagship enterprise of the Soviet Union. (Although it’ll do you good, if you were to expend the time & effort to do so...

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Rating 5 out of 5 | Sometimes it's OK to be taken for an unexpected ride; provided it's an entertaining one Gaiman you eloquent bastard, you got me again? Every time I go into one of your books, expecting something un-expected. Yet every time, you manage to hoodwink me like a magician with their pretty assistants. Even this time, when I went into the story looking for something suspicious, you used the familiarity of the reader with the subject matter to subvert their expectations, with a twist, which in hindsight should’ve been seen from a mile away. Anyways, I won’t discuss the specifics, as I don’t want to ruin the experience for prospective new readers. But still, a Spoiler alert just in case. Synopsis It is the turn of the twentieth century, Albion (Great Britain). A Detective & his companion, the Major are consulted to solve the crime of the murder of one of royal blood. Onl...