Death Note

A new phenomenon popular among teens these days is the reading of manga (Japanese comics). Many of these comics are developed into animated series (called Anime). I happen to enjoy watching Anime a great deal, but for the most part I haven't read much manga.

The one manga series that has really grabbed me is Death Note.


Please don't be deterred by the fact that this story is a "Comic". Manga is a completely different style from your stereotypical "Super-Hero" comics. It is simply another form of creative story-telling, and the better titles are incredibly well-plotted. Death Note is one of them.

(Caution: possible spoilers)
Death Note follows the story of a brilliant & bored-to-death high school student (Light Yagami) who happens to find a notebook that was dropped by a Shinigami (or God of Death). Light finds instructions in the front of the notebook, one of which is: "The human who's name is written in this note shall die."

Now, of course Light thinks its some kind of practical joke at first. However, when he sees a live hostage situation on a breaking news story, he figures it wouldn't hurt to write the gunman's name in the notebook- just for wishful thinking right? Imagine his surprise when a couple minutes later the hostages walk out of the building saying their captor had just collapsed dead.

Interested in this story yet? Maybe you're thinking what you might do if you had this mysterious death note? Whould you write some one's name in it? A couple someones' names? Maybe a few thousand? Curious to know how many names get written in Light's death note? Well, you'll just have to find out for yourself! Read Death Note. Remember that Japanese manga reads right-to-left, so it might feel like you're starting at the back of the book. Don't worry, you're not.

Death Note is a fantastic story, with a myriad of plot twists that keep coming at you. The rules of the death note are seamless. The plot is very intense, and philosophically challenging. All throughout the story it keeps you captivated-there are no slow points in this story. It becomes a detective/cat-&-mouse hunt. The events of the story reach a global scale before its over. And the ending does not disappoint, so you're not left hanging with major unanswered questions. So do yourself a favor: Read this story! Don't pre-judge it because its in graphic novel format. You will not be let down...

PS- If you are a fan of Anime, then you should watch the series as well. I've been collecting the DVDs as they come out, and they stick to the story like glue. Great voice-cast, and well produced.

The Romanov Prophecy

The Romanov Prophecy, by Steve Berry
Here's another book recommendation!
As part of my part-time job at a bookstore, I'm asked to recommend titles I enjoy to our customers. Its great! The author I've been recommending lately is Steve Berry.

Although I've collected all his books, the only one I've found time to read so far is The Romanov Prophecy. Nonetheless, this was a great book. A modern-day fiction, based on historical circumstances surrounding the Romanovs. The story builds upon the possibility that 2 of the children escaped the massacre. (I think they have identified the real remains of these children w/ DNA testing after the publication of this story).

This is a fast-paced action/mystery, told from the point of view of an American lawyer (Miles Lord), who is researching the backgrounds of various candidates nominated to become the new Tsar of Russia. His research leads him into the mysterious history of the Romanov assassinations, and he soon finds himself narrowly escaping several attempts on his own life.

The scope of the conspiracy grows throughout the book. Excellent plot twists are perfectly planted in this edge-of-you-seat page-turner.

I've been recommending this, and other books by this author by saying he writes a very similar style to Dan Brown, author of the DaVinci Code. If you liked any of Brown's books, try readign Steve Berry!