On the Verge of Lunacy

This book can be treated partly as a biography of Olaf Tryggvason (or Olaf Triggvison in the book). His life however has the elements of the hero myth. A hero isn't just a representation of the changes in the season or life and death. They also symbolize their people or the changes in their society. Olaf was such a man. He forcibly imposed a change by converting his people to Christianity. If sources were to be believed, he had a very complicated life. He was chased out of his country and denied his right to the throne, became a slave in Esthonia, was later reunited with a family member and had a fairly comfortable life at the court of King Valdemar, had many adventures as a Viking, and became a persistent and often harsh advocate of Christianity during his rule as the king of Norway. He was also a brilliant boy. He learned things much easier than his peers and he excelled in almost everything, like the heroes of various myths. Like every great hero however, he also had ...

Oz Vessalius was about to be initiated into the world of adults in a coming of age ceremony. This special occasion was interrupted when a group of strangers showed up and exiled him to a placed known as Abyss for a crime he does not know. He met a Chain called Alice or B-Rabbit. This Alice saved him by forming a Contract and they both managed to escape from that unusual place. That was when he met three other people, Xerxes Break, Raven and Sharon Rainsworth, who were also connected to the strange events. Oz was about to discover that worrying about some unknown crime he committed was the least of his worries. He now had to keep in mind that he has a Contract with Alice. He also has to find out what the organization Pandora is after and who were those people who threw him into Abyss, the Baskervilles. More revelations did not mean answers however. As he tried to delve more into the mystery of the Tragedy of Sablier, which seemed to have been the origin of the strange events, the more ...

Thirteen warriors risk their lives and honor in an attempt to assassinate Matsudaira Naritsugu and his men on their way home. Naritsugu is a brother of the current Shogun and is unpunished for his crimes. He is notorious for killing and raping several people. No one can touch him however and he is surrounded by skilled bodyguards who are loyal to him despite his eccentric and sadistic way of doing things. Doi Toshitsura, a government official, has to act before Naritsugu gains more political power and bring chaos to the land. He hires Shinzaemon to do the task for him. The first half of the movie focused on the preparations made and the acquisition of skilled samurai who would join their group. They decided to barricade a town because it was the only way to block the progress of Naritsugu's entourage. The group seemed confident that they had an advantage but they learned that instead of seventy, 200 men now escort Naritsugu. This movie is not for the faint-hearted. T...

Fuyu no Semi or Winter Cicada is a 3-part animation about two men trapped between the different views of the Shogunate and the Empire. This sad story is set in a time when Japan is transitioning from the Tokugawa shogunate back to the Imperial rule. Kusaka Touma of the Choshu clan and Akizuki Keiichirou, a Bakufu samurai, both agree that internal strife would only bring the downfall of Japan if the foreigners ever decide to conquer the country. It has to open its doors to foreign trade and relations, something that the exclusionists vehemently oppose. Kusaka, despite the objections of his friend Aizawa, still clings to his views. He started taking English lessons from Akizuki and this got him in trouble. As days passed, the relationship between his clan and Akizuki's group got worse so they had to stop meeting. Kusaka was later given an opportunity to go abroad. He had to endure years of being away from Akizuki. He has to come home however for the war and he's hoping tha...

Sion lives in a perfect world; he's a brilliant and promising student, has a mother who loves him, and lives in a society where peace and order reigns - what more can he ask for? He certainly seems happy but he finds himself wishing he could be like the leaves and flowers that could go wherever the wind takes him. Yet he never questioned anything. He is one of the many obedient residents of No. 6, a colony created after the war. No.6 is a perfect society - or is it? One stormy day, Sion meets a kid whose views differed from his. Years later they meet again. Sion by then has moved to another section of No.6, the Lost City, when the authorities learned he helped a fugitive escape. This fugitive, Nezumi or Mouse, was the boy he met on that stormy night four years ago. Despite losing the opportunity of getting a better job, he didn't seem to regret what he had done. Nezumi and Sion The death of his co-worker changed Sion's life. He is arrested  but Nezumi  rescue...

This is a compilation of fifty-eight stories by Dr. Wilhelm Ruland. The stories are grouped according to the location where each story supposedly took place. Each story has an introduction which makes the transition much easier for the reader. It includes a condensed version of Nibelungen Lied. The story has been chopped into two however, the earlier part of which can be found in a later chapter. The story of Lohengrin is also included. I recommend this book to those who are interested in legends and myths in general, as well as to people who are not knowledgeable about the subject. As mentioned earlier, the author provides a background of the story. Those who are not familiar with the places mentioned won't find it difficult to visualize the setting. Dr. Ruland's descriptive skill is sufficient for that task. There are also illustrations in selected legends. I'm giving this book a 9 out of 10 rating .