Book: Tomb Keeper

“After the near-disastrous attempt to exorcise the Manila Film Center, Fr. Nilo Marcelo and the spirit communicators vowed never to set foot in there again. But what followed after was a revelation that compels them to return for one final visit. And armed with fresh knowledge about his old adversary, Bishop Miguel Agcaoili leads them back to a fateful confrontation.“

On the one hand, Tomb Keeper is infinitely better (in writing and pacing) than Tragic Theater. For the uninformed (which, I’m guessing is many) this book is the sequel to the much-maligned (by me) debut novel by G. M. Coronel. But although I have written that it is better than Tragic Theater, that doesn’t mean that this book is actually any good.

Honestly, I don’t know why I picked the book up. Maybe I was curious if the author did improve, or maybe (deep inside) I wanted to know just how author Coronel would clean up the mess that was Tragic Theater‘s ending. Spoiler alert: he cops out.

In Tomb Keeper, G. M. Coronel flits to and fro two different periods of time: one during the Spanish era, and the other in the year following the events of the first book. I think he mentions somewhere the exact date, but all I know is that it is set in the year prior to the opening of the Amazing Philippines Theater, a theater group that featured transgendered performers. And was managed by a Korean businessman.

Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent. Where was I? Ah, yes– two time periods.

For me, the Spanish era component doesn’t really add anything to the story. I thought it would. I really thought it would provide answers and not just waste time. I was wrong. It’s just filler. On the plus side, this is better filler than Tragic Theater‘s long prayers (and answers) that take up so much space, but also add nothing to the story.

And speaking of fillers, there’s a chapter in the book that reads more like a travelogue than actual plot movement. I don’t know what the author was thinking, writing about delicious mangoes in the middle of a horror novel, but again it adds nothing to the story. It distracts and detracts. And the person dealing with the mangoes isn’t even the main character– Or was he?

If Tragic Theater‘s Annie was a flawed (and unlikeable) main character, Tomb Keeper suffers from having an ensemble cast with no clear lead. We jump from one character to the next at the drop of a hat, not for the sake of the story–but for the sake of having a page-turning cliffhanger. While it works for the most part, it’s more annoying than satisfying, especially when you learn at the end of the book that there really aren’t any answers to be had. That reading Tomb Keeper, much like the exorcisms in the book, is nothing but an exercise in futility.

Obviously, I didn’t like the book. But maybe, somewhere in the vast space of the internet, someone did? Let’s check out its page at Good Reads.

Book: Skyworld, Volume Two

“The Queen of the Asuang and her legion have taken over the country.

Alexandra Trese leads the resistance along-side Makabo, a Tikbalang warrior, and Kaio, a Duwende trickster.

Trapped in their epic battle is Andoy, a teenage boy tasked with uniting an army of Tikbalang, Enkanto, Kapre and Duwende against the Asuang.

But before he can lead them, he must first recover a mystical sword that was once part of the fabled Yamashita Treasure.“

And so ends Skyworld.

Ultimately, I’m not a fan. The story is sound, the structure is good–but the overall product is not something I’d gush about. I’m not saying it’s not good. It is. But the story doesn’t deliver on the promise of the premise. As I feared.

My main problem with the story is its length. Because the whole thing is so short, we never really connect with any of the characters we’re supposed to care about. Maybe Alexandra, but that’s because we know her from another series. A better series. The others?

I’ve already finished the book and I still know nothing about main character Andoy–save for the fact that he’s the chosen one. Makabo and Kaio are supporting characters in the most basic sense. They support Andoy, and that’s pretty much it. There’s a hint of something more for Makabo, but that’s nipped in the bud even before it completely takes off.

And I’m not a fan of the ten-year time jump in between the two volumes. Number one, because it feels like a cop out–not knowing how to deal with a giant sea dragon rampaging across Metro Manila. Number two, because of Alexandra. Don’t tell me she never aged in the ten years between volumes.

To end, there are better re-imaginings and re-tellings of Filipino folklore availalbe out there. There’s the Trese series, there’s Naermyth, or maybe you know of another novel/comic series that I don’t.

But, to be fair, here are links to what other people have written about the series:
Literateknolohitura
The Birth of Damnation
The Comics Cube

Book: Skyworld, Volume One

“Every legend hides a lie.

A murdered Skygod re-emerges in modern-day Manila. A Tikbalang prince plots vengeance for the death of his father. And the Queen of the Asuang unleashes the mythical Bakunawa upon the streets of the city.

Caught in their age-old struggle is Andoy, a crippled orphan that discovers he is the fulfillment of a prophecy dating back to Lapu-Lapu himself.“

I liked it–and I don’t really know why.

I mean, it has the elements that I’m looking for in a fun story. There’s Filipino mythology, there’s action, and there’s a story-arc that runs deeper than it looks.

But even though I did say that I liked it, there’s still something missing. For a “volume one” it barely scratches the surface of a bigger story. And considering the fact that there are only two volumes, I am afraid for what the second volume contains. I’m hoping it’s not a cop out. I’m hoping there’s a better story. I’m hoping that it accomplishes the promise of the first volume.

Would I recommend it though? Get back to me when I read and write about the second volume.

Book: Plague

“A highly contagious, fatal illness is spreading at an alarming rate, while sinister, preadtory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. Sam, Astrid, Diana, and Caine are plagued by a growing doubt that they’ll escape–or even survive–life in the FAYZ. With so much turmoil surrounding them, what desperate choices will they make when it comes to saving themselves and those they love?“

I hated it for the most part. And then things picked up near the end–and now, well, the excerpt for the fifth book has me looking forward to reading Fear. But that doesn’t change the way I feel about the Gone series–and this book in particular.

I feel like the premise and the promise of the series went to waste. Of course, not being the writer, I could be off-mark and this might be what author Michael Grant had in mind from the moment he started writing the first book. I must say though, this is not where I thought the book would go.

My chagrin remains with the Darkness. Now on the fourth book, this villain just feels so out of touch with the whole community aspect of the series. It does play a bigger role this time round though, and it does manage to push the action a little fast–but I still can’t feel any threat. Especially since we have Little Pete, a character who isn’t just invincible–he can make anything appear and disappear at will. He’s that powerful.

And at this point, I’ve completely lost my empathy for any of the lead characters. The only one I’m left rooting for, from the original book, are Lana and Edilio. Major characters in their own way, but not really the focus of the story.

That brings me to another complain: while Gone had a great handle on the ensemble cast of characteres, author Michael Grant seemed to have lost that grasp in the succeeding books. It’s weakest with Lies, but Plague is barely any better.

It’s a bad thing when I’m cheering on the villain to kill characters, just so the story could have a better focus.

On the plus side, Plague finally does move the plot along with regards to the barrier that surrounds the FAYZ. And that’s the only good thing I can say about this book.

Of course, I might just be a cynical and jaded old geezer. Other people have other opinions. Let’s check those out:
Overflowing Heart Reviews
Icey Books
Living in Fiction

Book: I Am Number Four The Lost Files, The Legacies

Talk about a mouthful. I am at an actual loss as to what to call this book. Should I call it The Legacies? The Lost Files? Or the really long I Am Number Four The Lost Files: The Legacies? Anyway–

“You know we’re out there, living among you. You know we’re waiting for our day to come. You have seen the power of our legacies. You know this is why they hunt us. You may think you know our stories. You are wrong. We each have our own story. We know the time has come to share them with you. Our legacies are your only hope.“

This book collects three novellas that is supposed to, I guess, bridge one Lorien Legacy book to the next. In it we have a back stories for Six and Nine, as well as a story that tackles the coming war from the other side of the fence. Now, if I hadn’t already read The Power of Six and The Rise of Nine, this book would’ve been much more valued. But I have read Books 2 and 3 of the Lorien Legacies–and that makes the novellas Six’s Legacy and Nine’s Legacy sort of obsolete. Both get tackled in the second and third book, respectively, and in a more succinct manner.

What does make this book a gem though is the last novella: The Fallen Legacies.

I mentioned, while writing about The Rise of Nine, that me reading the series has now veered away from being a guilty pleasure to actual enjoyment. That’s how I felt, reading The Fallen Legacies. It’s something that was enjoyable to read–and not because I was treating it as an action-adventure summer blockbuster film turned into a book. As I have already said, it tackles the coming war between the good guys and the bad guys–from the perspective of the bad guys. And, for the first time, we get a main character that we can empathize with.

Notice how I said main character and not protagonist?

Another thing that I enjoyed about The Fallen Legacies is the fact that while it retells a couple of stories that were already referred to in the three published books from the series, it manages to do so in a fresh way–with new information. The opening of I Am Number Four gets explored further, and we get to meet the characters that fell before the series even began.

Reading this last novella, I felt disappointed that the author hadn’t decided to write it into a full-fledged novel instead. I think that would’ve been more interesting to read than the rehash of what happened to both Six and Nine prior to them meeting Four.

But that’s just me. Let’s see how other people reacted to this collection:
Teen Reads
The World of Argon
Tales of the Ravenous Reader