Clock Striker Volume 2: The Sharing Society by Issaka Galadima and Frederick L. Jones

Title: Clock Striker Volume 2: The Sharing Society

Series: Clock Striker #2
Author: Issaka Galadima; Fredrick L. Jones
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Manga; Teen
Publisher/Publication Date: Rockport Publishers; September 10, 2024

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Clock Striker, Volume 2, is the exciting follow-up to the acclaimed first volume, featuring shonen manga’s first Black female lead character! Combining sci-fi, steampunk, action-adventure, and insightful humor, this new volume explores teenage hero Cast’s desire to (once again) save her friend Klaus while dealing with an entire town that confounds her with its unique sharing culture. Something is off—and Cast and her mentor, Ms. Philomena Clock, engineer-warriors called SMITHS, are determined to find out what it is before it’s too late.

Klaus is a runaway prince who has been captured by cybernetic outlaws, the Demon Bandits. Cast has almost never ventured past her hometown, so the demanding trek, including rough terrain and the strange kingdom of Alter, will test her beyond anything she has encountered before. With a rival SMITH and STRIKER on their tails, as well as the mysterious King of Alter—who seems to have a powerful kingdom despite rejecting cutting-edge technology—can our female dynamic duo save the day?

**Note: mild spoilers for volume 1 past this point, you’ve been warned.**

Another one of the sequels I was keeping an eye out for was Issaka Galadima and Fredrick L. Jones’ second volume of Clock Strikers. The series opening was one of my favorite manga releases of 2023, and I have been eagerly awaiting its sequel since.

Titled, The Sharing Society, the story charges right ahead and quickly picked up where the last volume left off. It combined a couple of humorous moments with plenty of action, while also continuing to explore some of the darker and far more complex themes present in the series. It had echoes of the conflict that took place in the first volume, but while the core was similar, this time around it was under vastly different circumstances—which kept the volume interesting as well as moving at a good pace. I flew through this one, and enjoyed every second of it.

This volume was story heavy and threw the characters into a number of perilous situations. Klaus is in a bind. He’s back in Altar and at the mercy of his father. However, there’s trouble in paradise for the Demon Bandits who were his captors, but it seemed like it was a deal/exchange that was always destined to go sideways. On the other side, our Striker and Smith duo, Philomena Clock and Cast, are in pursuit—while also being pursued. Some of the most unexpected twists arrived while the majority of the cast was in Altar, the supposed “sharing society.” The story peeled back the layers of that society and delved into the underlying darkness of the situation, and those were among the most compelling areas of the volume.

And, while a lot of ground was covered, the last chapter ends on a cliffhanger with the beginning of another mystery. However, that nicely set up the potential for the next volume.

Overall, Jones and Galadima have hit it out of the park with the second volume of Clock Striker.

 

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Rockport Publishers/ Quarto Publishing) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Review: The Case Study of Vanitas volume 5 by Jun Mochizuki

 Title: The Case Study of Vanitas

Series: The Case Study of Vanitas #5

Author: Jun Mochizuki
Source/Format: Gift; Paperback
More Details: Altenative History; Fantasy; Manga
Publisher/Publication Date: Yen Press; January 22, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Long ago, France was terrorized by The Beast of Gévaudan, who indiscriminately murdered hundreds. Before the creature could be stopped, the Beast vanished into thin air. Now, on the streets of nineteenth century Paris, news breaks of the Beast's gruesome return. As Noé and Vanitas rush to learn more about the Beast and its connection to vampirekind, none other than the Holy Knight, Astolfo, and Jeanne, the Hellfire Witch, stand in their way...

I’m steadily working my way through the current volumes of The Case Study of Vanitas. I’m on to number five, and it is a bit of a departure from the calmer chapters at the end of the previous volume. I guess you could say that it was the calm before the storm. The story takes on a darker tone, as the plot takes the main characters out of Paris. A lot of backstory is revealed for characters like Noe. There was even a little more about Jeanne (the Hellfire Witch), as some of her backstory is revealed through the exploration of her connection to the beast stalking Gévaudan.

The events of volume five once again demonstrated the murky morality in play with the characters of the series. Most of them are secretive and morally ambiguous, and so the lines between right and wrong are often blurred. It’s one of the strong suits of The Case Study of Vanitas. They’re characters you can care about and get invested in, who sometimes mean well, who think they’re doing right—and sometimes have the justification for it—but their secrets, motivations, and methods by which they get to that conclusion makes for situations that rarely have simple explanations or solutions.

There was plenty of action and mystery in this volume, which I greatly enjoyed. I also liked how Mochizuki incorporated real-world influences here. Such as how the Beast of Gévaudan was incorporated into the story so that it fit with the overall lore established in previous volumes—and as I was reading I thought the name sounded somewhat familiar, so I did google it.

Overall, this was another great volume, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Review: The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki

Title: The Case Study of Vanitas
Series: The Case Study of Vanitas Volume #1
Author: Jun Mochizuki
Source/Format: Gift; Paperback
More Details: Manga, Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Yen Press; December 20, 2016 (First published April 22, 2016)

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Step once more into the imagination of Jun Mochizuki, creator of New York Times-bestselling PandoraHearts! A tale of vampires and curses set in a whimsical and dark steampunk Paris unfolds! On the streets, rumors abound of a clockwork grimoire said to sow curses among the vampires. Now, guided by the Book of Vanitas, the gears begun to turn, and the story of two men, Noe and Vanitas, takes shape...

I haven’t kept up with manga by Jun Mochizuki for a while, but I was curious about her latest series, The Case Study of Vanitas. The story so far seems fun and quirky, but there are also a number of hints and vague statements that are already strongly alluding to the tragedy that is going to take place in this series. Even so, I liked the first volume of this manga. It does a lot of heavy-lifting by introducing the main cast of characters, the alternative and steampunk version of Paris, as well as some of the history, lore, technology, and the magic system present in this world. There were several points that were particularly fascinating to me, such as some of the abilities that the vampires + others displayed throughout volume one—particularly the titular character (Vanitas) as well as the book of Vanitas (I really want to know what’s going on with that). The vampires here are interesting. It doesn’t appear that they’re affected by sunlight—although there could be a reason for that explained in later volumes, we’ll see—although they do have some of the more usual traits such as strength, quick healing, immortality, red eyes, etc.. It also seems that moons + astrology have some significance in the story, and I want to know more about it. Volume one also mostly wrapped up what appears to be the first arc of the series, and there were many hints of what’s to come. So I’m interested, and I want to see what goes on in volume 2.

Musing Mondays (50) What I'm Reading This Week

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the Week...

Random weekly question from April 11th: Name a book everyone should read at least once.

For this question I'm going to go with Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, which I recommend for fans of books with fantasy and alternative history elements. It was a really great introduction to the trilogy, and I liked Westerfeld's take on historical events. He created a truly unique alternative retelling of history filled with fantasy elements such as advanced machinery that reminded me of mecha, and genetically modified creatures that almost seemed mechanical—all around, a cool concept. Plus, Keith Thompson's illustrations were pretty awesome.  

Other Musings...

Today, I'm just going to be sharing what I plan to read this week. I have two books I definitely want to get through. One of them is really short, so it won't be hard to read them both while possibly picking up a couple more books, depending on what catches my attention. The first one is Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez, and the second is The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee. You can read more about them below...

Synopsis from Goodreads....

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom- shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! There’s a gorgeous new guy at Nightshade High: Duke Sherrad, a fortune-teller claiming to have descended from Gypsies. Even though she’s psychic herself, Daisy is skeptical of Duke’s powers. But when a teacher who was the subject of one of his predictions ends up dead, she begins to wonder if Duke is the real deal after all. Maybe if Daisy can track down the teacher’s killer, she can find out the truth. The only trouble is, all signs point to the murderer being of the furry persuasion. Is Daisy any match for a werewolf? Maybe she is . . . in more ways than she bargained for!

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Now nearly a full-fledged member of the Agency, the all-female detective unit operating out of Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, Mary Quinn is back for another action-packed adventure. Disguised as a poor apprentice builder and a boy, she must brave the grimy underbelly of Victorian London - as well as childhood fear, hunger, and constant want - to unmask the identity of a murderer. Assigned to monitor a building site on the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, Mary earns the confidence of the work crew, inching ever nearer her suspect. But if an irresistible desire to help the city's needy doesn't distract her and jeopardize her cover, unexpectedly meeting up with an old friend - or flame - just might.

What are you reading this week?