Sourcery by Terry Pratchett

I love these books! They are funny fantasy/adventure and marvelous social commentary. Pratchett, as noted by The Times (London) is the Jonathan Swift of our day. This isn't the best of the lot, but that's like saying it isn't the brightest diamond in the pile.

A child is born and is invested with great powers. Eight years later, he arrives at Unseen University where all the wizards are happy to follow him for the greater glory of their kind. (The general population tend to ignore them.)

Almost all are happy. Rincewind, who failed most of his wizardly studies, and the Librarian, who, by mistake, was transformed into an Orangutan and prefers to remain one, are not happy. Together with Conina, daughter of Cohen the Barbarian, Nijel, a hero-in-training, and The Luggage, they set out to save the world from the Apocolypse of the Horseman and Three Pedestrians.

07-Ghost

A Manga by Yuki Amemiya & Yukino Ichihara

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Supernatural

# of books: Three volumes and waiting....

In a kingdom threaten by war it is only natural to desire the best solders. Barsburg Empire Military Academy produces the elite of elite by cultivating the rare and unique power of the "zaiphon"; which converts a "force" into different forms for combat depending on the students individual powers and personalities.

The story stems around a boy name Teito Klein, a slave raised to the position of military dog. We accompany him on his journey as he discovers his past life and the responsibilities it holds for him.

The story is incomplete so far but what I have read I have liked. Teito has a long road ahead of him as he searches out his past and discovers the secrets of the church of the 7 holy ghost. The storyline has a good feel and for the most part the graphics are drawn well. The only fault I find with it are the battle scenes--it is hard to tell the characters apart since they are blurred and jumbled. All the characters have the tendency to have the same facial structure so if you do not catch individual differences early on, you will find yourself looking back to make sure they are who you think they are. The story is somewhat predictable but I like the religion portion of the story, it has a good ideology behind it.

A good read but not a keeper.