blairconrad's Reviews (1.12k)

Insights into the past, including an unexpected twist. Also a hinted-at-for-a-long-time twist, that I'm glad turned out the way I expected, although I expect there's more to it than meets the eye.
Urasawa maintains the tension, and his high standards.

Finished in a mad rush with [b:Monster: Monster 18|1725519|Monster Monster 18|Naoki Urasawa|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187433858s/1725519.jpg|1722928], where I've made notes.

The only thing this book had going for it was the innovative demon designs. The storyline left me flat, and the whole thing seemed like nothing more than a vehicle letting characters who were in no way involved in the story get cameos.

Clever. An interesting take on instructing genetics. The "alien observer" viewpoint gave the author a reason to harp on earthly life's construction and human history in an interesting and less inflammatory way than might otherwise have been done. So far as I can tell, the science is solid, presented well - not dry, and with a sense of humour. The illustrations were fabulous - clean, well-drawn panels, with plenty of details and often embellishments that served to at least decorate and often amuse.

She blew it. I was hooked from the beginning – the story was somewhat interesting, and the characters likable. I was curious about the mystery, and really enjoyed the dream-like elements (specifically the concept of the shifting routes through the hospital).
Then things started taking a little too long. We’d get punctured equilibria – things would stay the same for a few dozen pages, then a shift. Then the sameness would last longer and longer, until eventually you despaired for something new to happen. Also, as time passed the sciency bits got less and less sciency and more weird.
It became boring. I watched my “rating” go from 5 to 4 to 3…

Basically, this would’ve been more worth consuming if it were half the length or so, but there just wasn’t enough concept to carry the book for the whole 800 pages.

I really liked it. Good artwork, tonnes of humour (seriously, the car-parking bit cracked me up), and a really nice tribute to the Caped Crusader.
I don't regularly read DC, and don't have incredibly strong feelings about Batman, so there's nothing here to upset or disappoint me, like some reviewers who've gone before. On the other hand, by the same logic, I'm surprised to have found myself emotional over a few parts of the book. Well worth reading for the "main event", and the bonus features included in the deluxe edition were gravy. I really enjoyed the sketchbook.

Really good. A story told in a slightly complicated, non-linear fashion - enough so that one has to pay attention, but not so much that the reader has to take notes. The characters felt like they had depth, and the setting had history. I found that I was really drawn along once the story got going (and the Olympics were done...)
Oh, and throughout there were these absolutely beautiful turns of phrases that (for once in an award-winning book) actually felt like they belonged in the text.