On the Verge of Lunacy

Dean Koontz's latest novel 77 Shadow Street is now available. To learn more about it, go to  http://www.deankoontz.com/77-shadow-street/

Dean Koontz's first novel debuted as one of the two novels in one volume from Ace Double andpublished in 1968. This short sci-fi and adventure mix tells the story of Tohm, who has just realized that he lost his body. Then known as Jumbo Ten, he deserted the Romaghin army to find his beloved whom he believed was also kidnapped. His search led him to something bigger and grander than anything he had ever imagined. Koontz was able to develop the character well in such a short novel. He was able to spare some paragraphs for the character to analyze the situation and therefore allow the reader to sympathize with Tohm. It felt lacking and Koontz could have stretched and improved it, but it was already obvious from this novel that he would become an exceptional writer that he is today. His skill in description is incomparable. Even his action scenes are well-written. I can see the events play out in my head as he describes them. I recommend that Dean Koontz fans like myself r...

This book tells us the colorful childhood days and the coming of age of the Celtic race's greatest hero. The book is divided into sixteen chapters. Each one is about the important events in Sentanta's life, who later on became known as Cuchulain, that marked the important influences and the people that shaped his life. There is also a chapter about Deirdre, whose life and misadventures indirectly influences the events the next events. Readers who are not familiar with this myth will not find this book difficult to understand. The uncommon words that are used are explained. The introduction will also provide additional information to the reader. The book tells only the story up to Cuchulain's coming of age after he was knighted. This will serve as a good introduction to the Ultonian cycle. If the reader wants to know what happens next to Cuchulain, I recommend Myths of the Norsemen by H.A. Guerber and Red Branch by Morgan Llywelyn. O'Grady's narrative is...

Posted this drawing at my deviantArt:  http://fav.me/d4ibre0 Xiahou Dun from the Dynasty Warriors games.

Posted this on my deviantArt:  http://fav.me/d4i8lgv

I posted this Ezio sketch in my deviantArt. See link below. http://fav.me/d4i4f9m

This beautiful tale of loyalty and friendship will surely make dog lovers cry. It is a remake of the Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari about an Akita named Hachiko who found love and friendship with a music professor named Parker Wilson. Parker tried to find the owners of the puppy who he found wandering in the train station and he even offered it to other people. But no one claimed Hachi. Even then he was becoming more attached to the dog. His wife was reluctant at first but she soon accepted the loving Hachi into the family as well. For the next two years, Hachi grew more attached to Parker. He would often accompany the professor to the train station every morning and then wait for him to come home. It became their habit to meet outside the station. Hachi would wait for his master on the same spot. Some people near the train station noticed this too. Then one day, his master never came back. Hachi did not know that Parker has passed away. Parker's daughter decided to take...

This book is a great introduction to Celtic culture and mythology. One of the highlights is the introduction of Celtic culture based on written accounts and archaeological evidence. Most books about myths often proceed to the recounting of the stories right after a brief introduction. Knowing about the culture and background of the people behind it will make it easier for the readers to understand the motivation and inspirations behind the tales. The book is divided into eight chapters. The ff. is the list of the titles of those sections: 1. The Celts in Ancient History 2. The Religion of the Celts 3. The Irish Invasion Myths 4. The Early Milesian Kings 5. Tales of the Ultonian Cycle 6. Tales of the Ossianic Cycle 7. The Voyage of Maeldun 8. Myths and Tales of the Cymry The second chapter discusses the possible origin of the religious practices and worship of the Celts. While the third chapter is about the first of the four main divisions of the Irish mythical and lege...

This book outlines the general idea of what the people in ancient Greece and Rome thought about afterlife in general. The soul is distinct from the body and has a place assigned to it in the center of the earth after it has departed the body. It is important to bury the dead or else they will wander the earth forever. There are three types of the dead based on Apuleius' classification: the Manes, Lemures and Larva. The last two are the 'bad spirits'  and are associated with the hauntings. There is also an interesting section about Necromancy. It is the practice of calling up spirits so the living can consult with them. People also believed that the dead have the power to see the future. The rest of the book contains stories of ghost sightings and excerpts of written accounts from various sources. This book is divided into 7 parts. The following is the list of those sections: 1. The Power of the Dead to Return to Earth 2.Belief in Ghosts in Greece and Rome 3. S...

Stonewielder is the 3rd book from the Novels of the Malazan Empire series by Ian C. Esslemont. The book is divided into three parts: Book 1: The Sea; Book 2: The Land; and Book 3: And All the Shores Between. There are six interconnected stories that can be found. First is Greymane's re-admission into the command structure of the Empire. He was offered to lead the Malazan Army to Korel. Readers will get to know what had happened to Greymane during his campaign in the past. Meanwhile, the Stormguard is having some problems in their defenses. The foundations of the Wall are weakening and they have a shortage of recruits. Murders in Banith have caught someone's attention. It seems like the killings have a pattern. But this discovery will endanger someone's life. An Army is massing to attack Ring. They are opposing the so-called Lady or Protectress. But the history of uprisings are in odds against the success of this campaign. All these stories all lead to the my...

Return of the Crimson Guard is the second installment of Ian C. Esslemont's Novels of the Malazan Empire. Although the title of the book pertains to the Empire's old nemesis, it also marks the start of the changes for the Empire. The book is divided into 3 major parts: Book 1: Diaspora's End; Book 2: The Eternal Return and; Book 3: Fates and Chances. The major players can also be divided into three major groups: those loyal to the empire, the Old Guard along with the groups who rose up in rebellion (the Talian League) and the Crimson Guard. It tells us about the history of the Crimson Guard and their determination to find the Duke - K'azz D'Avore. It will also show the present conditions and sentiments of the Avowed. In Book 3 when K'azz finally announced that he has returned, the Guard split into two factions. The other group is led by Skinner. The book also provides a background of the Stormriders, the flowering of the first human civilization and K...

After all the trials Seishun Gakuen has gone through, they have finally reached the greatest trial of their journey. In this OVA, they face an old nemesis and the current champions Rikkaidai Fuzoku. WARNING: SPOILERS! Here are the highlights from each episode: Episode 1: New opening and ending songs. Sanada and Tezuka's match turned out to be a battle of wills (and with a little bit of luck). Tezuka lost although Sanada was also at his limit. Episode 2: Ryoma has an amnesia. No one knows why. Doubles match between Inui and Kaidoh versus Renji and Kirihara. Inui's Data Tennis is challenged. He's forced to make the impossible possible. Seigaku forfeited the match due to Inui's condition. Episode 3: It seemed like Fuji was losing to Niou - but it was all just Inui's dream. Niou used the Tezuka illusion to challenge Fuji. The match is essentially a battle between Fuji and Tezuka. Later, Niou used a Shiraishi illusion but Fuji surprised everyone ...

After beating Higa and Hyotei, Seishun Gakuen proceed to the semifinals to face Shitenhouji. This 6-episode OVA shows the struggle of the Seigaku regulars to find their true potential and overcome their weaknesses. The players they will encounter are stronger and have deadly techniques that they need to overcome. Warning: Spoilers! The following are the highlights in each episode: Episode 1: Shitenhouji defeat Fudomine. Episode also showed a match between Tachibana and Chitose. Episode 2: First match between Seigaku and Shitenhouji. Fuji is defeated by Shiraishi despite using his Final Counter. Episode 3: New opening and ending songs. Momo and Kaidoh versus Koharu and Hitojiri. Match tested Momo and Kaidoh's patience and how well they knew each other's moves. Episode 4: Taka-san's dream of becoming the number one power player comes true when he survived Ishida Jin's multiple styles of Hadoukyuu. Episode 5: A doubles match becomes a singles m...

Iskaral Pust and wife Mogora. This drawing can also be viewed through my deviantArt:  http://fav.me/d4crvzn

Tavore, Ganoes and Felisin from the Malazan series. This drawing can also be viewed through my deviantArt:  http://fav.me/d4crviu

Seigaku's journey to the Nationals continue in three short OAVs. The final episode from the main series showed Ryoma leaving Japan for a tournament in the U.S. In the first episode of Prince of Tennis: The National Tournament , Ryoma went to visit his seniors to cheer them on, but because Oishi's injury got worse, the vice-captain decided to let Ryoma play in his stead. This OVA consists of 13 episodes and shows Seigaku's matches against Higa and then Hyoutei. Warning: Spoilers! These are some of the highlights of each episode:  Episode 1: Seigaku cheered for Rokkaku but the team could not beat Higa's players. Oji was attacked by one of the players too.  Episode 2: Seigaku's first match with Higa. Ryoma plays against Tanishi. Although Ryoma appeared like he was losing, he was actually doing it on purpose. Episode 3: Fuji (teamed up with Taka-san for the doubles) revealed his Fourth Counter - Kagerou Zutsumi. Episode 4: Eiji was still upset by Oishi'...

Tool from the Malazan series. Here's the link to my deviantArt:  http://fav.me/d4boipc

This is the first book that is supplementary to the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Readers who are already familiar with the mentioned series should by now be aware that the Malazan world was not created by Steven Erikson alone. The introduction in the book will explain that. The book focused on two characters who are caught in the events that transpired on the Night of Shadows - or Shadow Moon. Temper, a Malazan soldier, has been trying to live an uneventful life. The seemingly quiet and bored veteran however has a past that keeps haunting him. Meanwhile, somewhere in Malaz Island, his complete opposite Kiska stumbles upon an exciting discovery that will open up an opportunity for her to live the kind of life she wants. Most readers who have read Erikson's books will be familiar with most of the gods and Ascendants mentioned here, as well as the Shadow Realm. One of the highlights of this book is Edgewalker's participation in the events. Part of his nature is rev...

This 26-episode series follows the life of Haruhi Fujioka with the Host Club and its six members. Most of Ouran Academy's students come from wealthy families but Haruhi managed to get in the school as a scholar. She accidentally stumbled upon the Host Club in the first episode and broke a vase. The Host then asked her to pay for the broken item but since she could not afford it, she had to take on the job as a host.  Because of Haruhi's appearance, the members thought that she was a guy. Eventually, they found out that she is a girl through subtle clues when they interacted with her. The last one to notice this was Tamaki Suou, the leader of the Host Club. They all agreed to keep it a secret to maintain her image but there are noticeable differences in the way they are treating her since then.  The rest of the Host Club members are as follows: 1. Suou Tamaki - referred to as the "King" of the Host Club. He is cheerful, a bit narcissistic and sometimes ...

This is another tale of the possibilites that one's heart is willing to take. Spencer Grant is haunted by his past. He despises it yet he stubbornly clings to it, waiting for an opportunity to understand a part of himself that he's afraid to explore. When he met valerie Keene, everything changed for him. He could not explain why he was drawn to that woman but he just knew that if he could just talk to her, he'll know the answers. But Valerie's gone and now he's being pursued by an unknown group of people. People with power and influence. And they won't stop. Dark Rivers of the Heart is divided into two parts: On a Strange Sea and To the Source of the Flow. Like most of Dean Koontz's books, the characters have dark pasts that they somehow had to accept and overcome. But unlike the usual Koontz protagonists, Roy Miro isn't well-educated, smart and wealthy. But he's overly confident and merciless. Although he himself was not blessed with good l...

The Prince of Tennis live-action film is a shorter version of the anime, which combines some of Ryoma Echizen's rivals into one character, Egate Mcleod Higaki. He also replaced a member of Hyotei, Hiyoshi Wakashi. The first part of the film shows his introduction to the Seigaku tennis club regulars. Ryoma here is undecisive and he doesn't seem happy to be playing tennis with his seniors. If there was a hint of this in the anime, it's more obvious here. He seems to have little motivation in playing against other schools. His match with Tezuka Kunimitsu however somewhat changed his perception of the junior high school players. But that alone wasn't enough to convince him to stay and help Seigaku get to the Nationals. From left: Kaidoh, Momo, Eiji, Tezuka, Ryoma, Oishi, Fuji, Taka-san and Inui But when Higaki visited the tennis club to taunt Tezuka and the other members, Ryoma changed his mind. The match against Hyotei followed the same events in the ser...

Most anime feature a prodigy destined for greatness. The series would then follow the exploits of that character to his or her final quest. Yet most of those characters start off weak and in desperate need of a mentor, friends (who at first were enemies) and perhaps even a love interest who will inspire him or her to do great things. Ryoma Echizen is a tennis prodigy, but he certainly does not start off as a weakling who needs practice and experience badly. Unlike most characters of his type too, he is not loud, obnoxious and someone you could easily make fun of. For those qualities alone, I consider Prince of Tennis the best anime I have seen to date. The 42-volume manga was created by Takeshi Konomi. His work inspired a 178-episode TV series, animated and live-action movies, musicals (Tenimyu), more than a hundred songs, radio drama (Rajipuri) and video games. Whoever thought that a sport such a tennis that involves almost no physical contact with opponents and fast matches can...

This 1972 science-fiction novel was one of Dean Koontz's earliest works. This book explores the facets of the human mind, its desires, hopes and and its quest for meaning and purpose. The book is divided into four parts: Divinity Destroyed, Humanity Restored, The Incomplete Creation and Man As God. The protagonist Simeon Kelly is one of the two successful products of Artificial Creation. He has the ability to probe the minds of other people. One day he was asked by AC to explore Child's mind, another creation of AC, to unlock the missing information needed to create the shields that will be used for the pending world crisis. Child, the first supergenius ever created, has been withholding important information from Morsfagen and the rest of AC. Simeon's tour of Child's mind takes him into strange worlds and forced him to think and reshape his view of things. Different though they were, he realized that they were both looking for meaning and purpose in their lives b...

Once again Dean Koontz has shown that even a life full of despair does not necessarily create a broken, hopeless soul. Micky Bellsong's life was forever changed by one girl she met one day at her Aunt Geneva's house. Like Micky, Leilani Klonk lived with terror all her life but she was able to cope better than Micky did. What sounded at first as some sort of joke turned out to be the grim story of Leilani's life. Leilani is trapped in a strange family. A stepfather who allegedly killed several people and a mother who calls herself Sinsemilla and who's always high on drugs and self-delusion. He also told Micky about Preston's, her stepfather, belief on aliens and their power to heal deformities. Her brother Lukipela was taken by Preston to the said aliens and was never seen since. As Leilani's 10th birthday approaches, her fated meeting with aliens draws near. She fears that Preston killed her brother and that he would do the same to her. Meanwhile, a boy t...

"Within every chaos, is an eerie order waiting to be revealed. " ~ Lamar Woolsey, chapter 44 This tale of hope amidst the challenge of the unknown and the threats of humanity's capability for cruelty and destruction can be considered as one of Dean Koontz's masterpieces. The plot is no different from most of Koontz's books involving science fiction and suspense and yet he still doesn't fail to surprise me. The book is divided into three parts. The first is called Life and Death in which he introduces the main characters of the story: Grady Adams, Merlin the dog, Camillia Rivers, Lamar Woolsey, Tom Bigger and Henry Rouvroy. How these characters will affect each other was not clear until the final few chapters of the book. Henry was more like a distraction from the main story although it seemed like he will have a huge impact on the lives of the other characters. Tom Bigger also did not have anything to do with the characters I mentioned but his experience,...

Below is the link to my deviantArt. It's a drawing of Fiddler, a character from the Malazan series. http://fav.me/d42glms

The Malazan series ends with unexpected twists, surprising revelations and heartbreaking deaths. The Crippled God picks up from where the stories in Dust of Dreams left off. It has two main stories: one, the mission to free the Crippled God, and the fight to save Kharkanas. It also included points-of-view from the Forkrul Assail, Tiste Liosan, Korabas, and Kaminsod - the Crippled God. The Bonehunters continue their march through the Glass Desert and eventually met the Snake, which until after the meeting was a mysterious player in the overall story. Meanwhile, the Shake fight on for Kharkanas. Their determination humbled the Tiste Andii, who have at last come home. Although at first it seems that this has no connection to the Crippled God, it was later revealed that there was some of of alliance between the K'Chain Nah'ruk, Liosan and Assail. Paran and the rest of Paran's Host also appear in this book. Recall that in Toll the Hounds Picker tried to contact Ganoes...

So far I've done a few reviews of some anime, books and video games. I'll be writing more reviews of my favorite anime series in the next few weeks as well as the novellas from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I'll be rereading some of Dean Koontz's works too. Most of what I've reviewed so far I have watched/read/played in the past 3-4 years. I'll be including some series that I've recently finished too. Things to do: 1. A four-part review of Prince of Tennis. 2. Top Ten lists of anything from the Malazan series. 3. Reviews of my favorite books by Dean Koontz. 4. Summary of some mythology and folklore books I'm going to read.

The second season of Junjou Romantica is even better than the first. Misaki and Usami's relationship has leveled up. However, Misaki still questions his feelings for Usami, and what's more, the couple has to face more problems: the involvement of Usami's family. Misaki met Usami's brother for the first time and trouble ensues. It seems that Haruhiko wants to steal Misaki, but Usagi took up the challenge and even kissed Misaki in front of Haruhiko. Meanwhile, Hiroki and Nowaki still argue over the same issues as in the first season. But the couple here is more determined to keep their relationship stronger. They are more open about their feelings and they're doing their best to discuss problems openly instead of avoiding confrontations. Miyagi also got the chance to finally tell Shinobu about his past - the woman, his teacher, whom he loved before. He apologized when he realized that Shinobu was insecure about it. In the latter part of the series, Misaki a...

In Dust of the Dreams, the story of the Bonehunters continue. Tavore and her army march across the Wastelands to Kolanse after staying in King Tehol's Letheras. Their allies, the Perish and the Khundryl, will join them along the way. At first it was not clear what Tavore's intentions were but after the reading, done by Fiddler at the beginning of the book, they found out that they were marching to the lands occupied by the Forkrul Assail. For the first time too, the readers will be given a chance to experience the events through the K'Chain Che'malle's point-of-view. When the Errant heard about the unleashing the Deck of Dragons, he decided that the Elder gods should take action. The Errant, threatened by the upstart gods and the Master of the Deck, wanted to take everything he has lost. And so he gathered the Elders and discussed his plans. Somewhere within the same continent, the Barghast were having problems of their own. Beset by internal strife, some ...

What could be more tragic than lovers torn apart by betrayal, sense of duty and families willing to fight each other to the death. Kouga Danjo and Ogen's granchildren suffer the same fate that befell them years ago. It seems like the stars decreed that they were not meant to be together; that peace between the Tsubagakure of the Iga and the Manjidani of Kouga, two ninja clans, will never be realized. The story is set at the time when the heir of Tokugawa Ieyasu was being decided. To end the conflict, Ieyasu sought the counsel of a priest, who told him that the ninjas might be useful to decide who the rightful heir is. The ninjas were also seen as a threat and that letting them kill each other will benefit the government. Gennosuke and Oboro Little did they know that the two clans were about to reconcile through the marriage of Gennosuke and Oboro. Danjo and Ogen both knew this but did not mention it when they were summoned to Sunpu in what they thought was just a showdow...