Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (4🌟)

Asleep is a collection of 3 stories, all of them sharing moments of women sleeping and having bizarre dreams. Death is also present in the stories, with characters grieving their loved ones and coming to terms with their loss.

The first story is called Nights and Night Travellers. It follows  a young woman, Shibami,  and her cousin Mari,  coming to terms with the death of Yoshihiro, Shibami's older brother. As with most of her novels, this story is about grieving, remembering the dead, not with fatalism but with peaceful acceptance.

The second story, Love Songs, follows a young woman, Fumi remembering a toxic relationship with a man who was going out with another woman, Haru. In fact she recalls more memories of Haru, who is now dead, than of her lover. This was my favourite story :)

In the last story, Asleep, we meet yet another woman who has recently lost her best friend after she committed suicide. She is going out with a married man whose wife is in a coma with little hope of recovering.

My book was published by Faber and Faber in 2001. It has 177 pages.

The Dreaming Void - Peter F.Hamilton (4.4🌟)

The Dreaming Void is a hard science fiction novel with elements of space opera and fantasy (?). It deals with themes like cloning, body enhancements, consciousness downloading and religious fanaticism. This is the first book in the Void trilogy which takes place in the same universe as the Commonwealth saga, only, more than, one thousand years after.

This novel narrates two (connected) stories told in alternate chapters. The first one which, I believe, takes place in "reality" in the far future in year 3589, and the other takes place in a strange planet, maybe in a different universe/dimension (?), with people with telekinetic powers, living in primitive conditions. The plot in the reality timeline takes place in multiple scenarios (planets, cities, spaceships) and follows several characters' stories in parallel.  The plot in the other dimension is simpler, following one main protagonist.

The main concern of all plot lines taking place in 3589 is the Void. Supposedly a black hole it was discovered later that it was something else. Something that has been devouring the galaxy  and everything it contains for millions of years. The Raiel, an alien species, has been researching the Void for millenia from a space base thousands of light years from the edge of the Void.  They have built a wall, a kind of barrier using Dyson Spheres, to deter anyone from entering the Void. It is believed that such an act would trigger another devourment phase.

However in one small planet on the edge of the Commonwealth  (union of planets) there is a growing cult of people who believe that their destiny is waiting for them inside the Void. The "Living Dream" came to life after an astrophysicist, Inigo, started to have dreams of a young man with outstanding telekinetic powers and who lives in a planet inside the Void. Thanks to his neural implants, Inigo is capable of broadcasting his dreams into the "gaiafield," a network of information and emotions. As the Living Dream gain political and economical power they make plans to build technologically advanced starships to go on pilgrimage. This causes concern among the central government of the Commonwealth, the Raiel and other species who believe this crusade will destroy the galaxy.

Opinion: wow! I loved this novel. So many interesting characters, so many stories. This is an intricate narrative and one has to devote some quiet time to understand and absorbe names, technologies, science and history, all interwoven in an amazing tale.

Regarding characters and their interwoven plots, I would like to highlight, first the way Hamilton describes them: not too in depth, but enough to keep the reader interested and engaged. There is one character called Aaron, who is a man on a mission to find Inigo, but with no memory of who and why he is on that mission. He has a set of body enhancements which are fun to read about. Another character called Paula Myo, a woman more that a thousand years old, and who, I believe played an important role in the Commonwealth saga (haven't read it yet.) She's got an interesting past and I loved her attitude.  Next is Araminta a seemingly average woman. At the beginning her story seems disconnected from the rest but then we get a mind blowing twist and understand why she is there. Finally, Mr Bovey an interesting minor character, not because of what he does but because of what he is: a multiple (man), that is, one consciousness/personality in multiple bodies.

Another interesting aspect of the novel is its massive scale in terms of time and space. The Raiel and the Void have existed for millions of years. Humanity now moves across the galaxy in faster than light spaceships. All of this massiveness is rightly explained and justified throughout the novel.

To finish, one thing I didn't quite like was the nature of the story in Inigo's dreams. Much more fantasy than science fiction I would say. Hard for me to follow at some points and the reason why this book is not 5 stars.

Oh and the ending was .... I need book 2 Now!



My book is a paperback published by Pan McMillan in 2014. It has 647 pages.

Ofrenda a la Tormenta / Offering to the Storm - Dolores Redondo (4.4🌟)

Offering to the Storm is the third book in the Baztan saga. It was written originally in Spanish in 2014 and then translated into English in 2017, published by Harper Collins. I read the Spanish edition: Ofrenda a la Tormenta.

This book starts about a month after the events at the end of The Legacy of the Bones (El Legado de los Huesos, original in Spanish). We follow again Inspector Amaia Salazar who is called to investigate the death of a baby girl, initially declared as victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Salazar and her team realise that the girl was asphyxiated by her own dad. Awful as it sounds this is only a snippet of a complicated network of macabre and perturbing events which date back several decades in the past. Suddenly the dad tries to steal the girl's body during the funeral. He says, to carry out with a rite. Salazar's instinct takes her to look for recent, similar cases of SIDS in the area. What she finds is horrific and it takes the team back to revisit close cases (the basajaun and tartalo, from book 1 and 2 of the trilogy) which are connected and apparently just the tip of the iceberg of an occult network of sadistic killers.

Opinion: I think this might be the best book of the trilogy. I surely love the three books. However, this one scores for the outstanding way in which Redondo connects the cases from the 3 books in a way that makes sense, and which is interesting and entertaining. More points for character development, Inspector Salazar, SubInspector Etxaide and Judge Markina. Obscure characters which are not always present but are intriguing and add to the story such as Rosario, Amaia's mother, Flora, Amaia's sister, Father Solorzano. Dead characters who still play important roles are as well excellent additions. Finally, more points for the gothic, obscure atmosphere (which is present in the 3 books) and the creepy, disturbing scenes of the crimes. I totally recommend this trilogy to any thriller and crime novela fan.

My book is the Spanish edition published by Ediciones Destino, Editorial Planeta. It has 539 pages.

Fledgling - Octavia Butler (3.9🌟)

Fledging is a vampire novel, but not a horror one. Obviously it has some disturbing scenes showing what vampires do. However I would call this a coming of age and social criticism novel focusing on discrimination and racism.

Fledging tells the story of a 53 year old child vampire who has to rediscover herself, relearn what and who she is as well as the customs and protocols of the society she belongs to. The novel starts when she wakes up badly hurt and with amnesia inside a cave. She wanders around and hunts wild animals to satiate her hunger. She is later rescued by a man, Writgh, who saw her walking on the road. He is worried for her and tries to take her to a hospital or the police. She doesn't want to go to any of those places although she doesn't know why. She tries to escape and he grabs her. She ends up biting him.

No, she doesn't kill Wright but loves sucking his blood. Wright doesn't panic but is surprised by the pleasure this girl has given him. The young vampire asks the man to help her find out who she is and he accepts right away.  This is the start of a bizarre relationship. This is more than weird but I guess this is what vampires do with their prey. She needs Wright for food and protection and he needs her because he is attracted to her in more than one way. To start their search they go back to were the vampire child woke up. They explore a ruined, burnt house and later find her father.  He calls her Shori and takes the couple with him to his house hold. There she learns that her mothers and sisters died in a fire and that she is the only survivor. He wants her to live with him now but she is not sure and wants to go back to Wright's house to think. Little did she realise that this would save her life again as her father and brothers are killed in a other house fire.

Opinion: this is not what I expected. I have read other science fiction novels by Butler and thought this one would have a scifi twist. No. I also assumed this could be a horror story and I was wrong.  I can't complain though. This is a well written, well tought out vampire story. Butler reconfigures the vampire mythology in an intelligent and interesting way. She creates and ancient society with history, customs, traditions and norms that has coexisted with humanity without being discovered. She creates the symbionts, humans who willingly live with vampires, in remote locations. Symbionts are used for their blood but in return they are given healthy longer and comfortable lives. Their relationship with vampires is odd to say the least. Some sort of sexual partners, who are also family and friends but with whom they cannot procreate as they belong to different species.

I found most of the charactees interesting especially Shori. She is well constructed, growing and learning from start to end. The relationships between vampires and symbionts were hard to swallow at the beginning. Particularly Shori's. She is an underage vampire child who is not ready to mate yet but who has sexual desires (for vampires and humans). However this is well accepted in her society.

On the negative side, I found the first half of the novel not that interesting. Yes, we follow Shori in her learning process and we see her doing nasty things but the reason for all this to happen is not clear until the last few chapters. And this was not a plot twist. It was more like filling a hole in the story for me. All the elements of social criticism are justified and make sense but I wanted more before the end.

My edition was published in 2007 by Grand Central Publishing. It has 310 pages.

Harmony - Project Itoh (4.2🌟)

Harmony is a science fiction novel original written in Japanese in 2008 and translated into English by Alexander O. Smith in 2010. It is a utopia/dystopia dealing with topics such as consciousness, will, suicide, revenge, good health and food.

The story follows Tuan Kirie, a 28 yo woman who works for the World Health Organisation, and who has to investigate the recent simultaneous suicide attempt by 6 thousand people. Tuan lives in a utópic Japan but travels all around the world for work. She is not the average japanese woman though. She is not happy with health/life-centric societies she is living in and often tries to escape. People live healthy, content lives following behavioural codes which have been embedded in nanotechnology within their bodies. Thus software tell them what to eat, how to keep healthy life style and when to go to the doctor. They also posses GPS, access to news and other forms of communication from brain implants. Most people agree with this kind of life except some who cannot adapt to the nanotechnology and who are refered to psychological adjustment. There are also places in the world keeping old ways of life,  disconnected from the networks. Tuan goes there for work in an (apparent) effort to make them join their utópic world. However in reality Tuan loves being disconnectedand and enjoys consuming prohibited substances like alcohol and tobacco.

Though suicide attempts in this new world still exist they are rare. The World Health Organisation is worried the 6 thousand attempts, of which half were successful, will escalate into world panic. Tuan's need to find out if there is anyone responsible for that attack to their society. She has some clues connected to her past and her own attempts at suicide. Thirteen years ago, she and two teenage friends tried to commit suicide by starvation. Two of them survived but their leader didn't. Miach Mihie had taught the other two girls that the world was not a good place to live in. A world where their lives and bodies were not theirs but the societies, where they were monitored and told what to do by software. Tuan has a hunch that the recent incidents are somehow connected to Miach.

Opinion: this is a very well written novel.  It depicts a new society in which we can see fragments of ours. Some food for thought in social criticism, ethics and use of technology and power. The setting, plot and characters are well presented and balanced. Miach and Tuan are well layered, interesting characters, though Miach is more of a mystery. I liked how the author used html tags at some points to indicate thoughts or emotions.  I thought it was cool until I got to the end and understood why it was being used. Now I thing it easy cool and clever.

My edition is a paperback published by Haikasoru in 2010. It has 252 pages.

The World of Edena - Moebius (story and art) (4.2🌟)

The World of Edena is a science fiction graphic novel which deals with topics such as (the world of) dreams, sexuality, food and nutrition and nature v civilization.

The story starts with Atan and Stel, two humans in a recognition mission in an asteroid base. When they arrive at the base the place is empty, and they can’t find any clue as to the whereabouts of its crew. All of a sudden the asteroid falls into the planet it is orbiting. Atan and Stel survive the fall and start to explore the planet. After a while they find a giant Pyramid surrounded by a city and thousands of inhabitants of various races. People tell Atan and Stell that they have arrived there without know how. Some of them have been there for thousands of years asking themselves if someday they will know secrets of the pyramid. Hours later Stell can’t resist the Pyramid’s call and walks into it. People are astonished. They tell Atan that Stel is the first person allowed into the Pyramid. After a few hours Stell comes back and announces that his mission is to take everyone to the paradisiac planet of Edena. Some time after, in the ship (the Pyramid is a ship), Atan and Stel find some curious seats and sit on them. The seats then change into a bubble which transports then to Edena. The planet looks like a giant park, full of apple trees and others. The pair is amazed by such beauty but start to panic when they see there is no one around let alone any trace of civilization. The first problem arises with hunger. They don’t know what to eat without a food synthesizer. Surrounded by natural fruits the pair is incapable of altering their mental paradigm to save their lives. Of course, as time passes they have no other chance but to try what nature is offering them. After a few days in Edena and trying natural food we see both characters’ physical appearance change. Before sexless now one of them is a woman and the other is a man.

Opinion: this is crazy story, interesting, with some easy chapters and some slow ones. Both protagonists go through change, growing and learning. They are delightful to read. Halfway the plot we are taken into a city, The Nest, with strange inhabitants which are food for thought. Their way of life, their ideologies are a clear criticism of our modern world. Another element which explored in this story is the division between dreams and reality. When some of the characters can immerse themselves into someone else’s dreams, or when they dream within a dream the story shifts into a fantasy tale. Nothing wrong with this. However, at some points I couldn’t understand what I was reading, dream or reality. Finally, I found the ending ambiguous, which I liked, and a bit abrupt, I didn’t like.

The art is beautiful. Although it changes from chapter to chapter we can appreciate a simple style with few lines, but which express a great deal. (See a sample below.)

My edition was published by Dark Horse and it has 350 pages.


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The World of Edena, o el Mundo de Edena, es una novela gráfica de ciencia ficción que toca temas como (el mundo de) los sueños, sexualidad, nutrición, naturaleza vs civilización, entre otros.

La historia empieza con Atan y Stel,  dos humanos en una misión de reconocimiento en una base en un asteroide. Al llegar a la base no encuentran nada, ninguna persona o pista que indique donde están. Pero de pronto, el asteroide empieza a caer en el planeta que orbita. Atan y Stel sobreviven la caída y empiezan a explorar el desolado planeta. Luego de un tiempo encuentran una pirámide gigante rodeada de una ciudad habitada por miles seres de diferentes razas. La gente le cuenta a Atan y Stel que llegaron ahí sin saber cómo y que algunos llevan miles de años viviendo en el planeta y preguntándose si algún día sabrán el objetivo de la pirámide. Horas después Stel no puede resistirse al llamado de la pirámide e ingresa en ella. La gente asombrada le cuenta a Atan que Stel es la primera persona que ha podido entrar en la pirámide. Luego de unas horas Stel regresa y anuncia que sus instrucciones son pilotear la pirámide y llevarlos a todos al planeta paradisíaco de Edena.

Tiempo despues, ya en la nave, Atan y Stel encuentran unos asientos se extraños y se sientan en ellos. Los asientos se transforma  en una burbuja y los transporta a Edena. El planeta se asemeja a un parque inmenso, lleno de manzanos. La pareja se asombra de tanta belleza, pero se empiezan a asustar al ver que están solos y que no hay ningún rastro de civilización a la vista. El primer problema surge al poco rato cuando les da hambre y no saben como van a comer si no tienen una sinterizadora de comida. Rodeados de frutos naturales los dos pilotos son incapaces de alterar su paradigma de vida para salvar sus vidas. Pero claro, el tiempo pasa, y el hambre hace que los hombres se empiecen a probar cosas nuevas. Luego de días en Edena, ambos personajes empiezan a notar cambios en sus cuerpos, antes sin sexo, ahora mujer y hombre.

Opinión: esta es una historia loquísima, interesante, con episodios ágiles y otros lentos, con dos personajes principales que sufren muchos cambios, que crecen y aprenden y que son un deleite de leer. Como a la mitad de la historia encontramos una ciudad, The Nest, con unos habitantes que dan mucho que pensar. Su forma de vida y su ideología son una crítica a muchos aspectos de nuestro mundo moderno. Otro elemento que se explora en esta obra es el de la división entre sueños y realidad. Cuando algunos personajes pueden entrar en los sueños de otros, o cuando se sueña dentro de otro sueño la historia ya no parece ciencia ficción sino fantasía.  Nada malo como eso solo que por algunos momentos el lector ya no sabe que es lo que está leyendo, sueño o realidad. Y por último, el final, es ambiguo (me gustó ) y un poco abrupto (no me gustó).

El arte es precioso, aunque cambia un poco en cada capítulo, se puede apreciar el estilo sencillo de pocas líneas pero que expresan mucho.

Mi edición es publicada por Dark Horse y tiene 350 páginas.

The Mind of James Svengal - Jordan Sam Adams (historia), Lyndon White (artista) (3🌟)

The Mind of James Svengal is a graphic novel about post traumatic depression and drug use.

This is a short, easy to read and entertaining story. It follows an artist, James Svengal, who is suffering of depression after running over a drunk girl. James is tormented by his guilt. He slowly descends in a deep hole out of reach of his girlfriend and friends. He attends therapy sessions but it doesn’t help. One day he gets LSD pills and decides to take them. The drugs only worsen his depression as he starts having confusing nightmares.

Art: it was a bit confusing at the beginning until i got used to it. It certainly helped with creating an atmosphere around a perturbed man. See below.

I bought my book from Lyndon White at the London Comic Con in October 2018.

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The Mind of James Svengal es una novela grafica que toca temas de depression post traumatica y uso de drogas.

Esta es una historia corta, sencilla que me entretuvo. Sigue a un artista, James Svengal, que esta atravezando por una depression despues de haber atropellado a una joven borracha. James se siente culpable por el accidente y vive atormentado, descendiendo lentamente en un pozo profundo de donde ni su novia lo puede sacar. Va a un psicologo, pero no es mucha ayuda. Un dia se hace con un frasco de pildoras de LSD, y buscando alivio de sus preocupaciones empieza a tomarlas. Las pastillas solo lo hunden mas en un mundo de pesadillas.

El arte me pareció a veces confuso pero adecuado para una temática asi.

Mi edicion es en paperback que le compre a Lydon White en el Comic Con de Londres Octubre 2018.