Rosy's scrawled manhwa recommendation: Chunchu by Kim Sungjae

Chunchu
Kim Sungjae

Blurb

Cursed from birth, Chunchu is the holder of the demon stone which renders its host invincible. Abandoned by his father and raised by a people not his own, the young man, whose name becomes synonymous with bloody massacres, arouses only fear and hatred wherever he goes. He has however decided to try to understand why such a destiny was reserved for him, but his twin brother is having none of it.

Alternative names
천추
Cheonchu
Chonchu
Chunchu The Genocide Fiend

Status
Ongoing

Manga reader sites (free)
Manga Here, Manga Anime

Rosy's scrawlings on Chunchu
Chunchu is a manhwa of a little boy lost. Not just lost though, but humiliated, rejected, tortured, vilified and terrorised to the point of insanity. But Chunchu is a survivor so despite what's thrown at him or what cuts him he comes through with a will to live. It's an insane drive emphasised by the demon part of him, the results of which are gory battles leading to massive body trails. The number of people he killed when he first completely snapped is enough to make him a terror in anyone's eyes but unfortunately for Chunchu he already is one.
The story so far is simple, revolving around who is really the demon's child and Chunchu's efforts at survival, but it is enthralling in its goriness and for the small glimpses into Chunchu's past that we are afforded. There is a promise of the story becoming more complicated as Chunchu's brother negotiates taking over vast swaths of territory, usually by force, and attempts to hide his own demonic problems. There is a big clash or two to come between the brothers and while they're at it a several clans and countries are likely to fall. Death surrounds them both but only Chunchu bears the brunt of being told all the deaths around him are his fault. So far.
The art, by Kim Hyung-Jin, of Chunchu is one of the most appealing aspects of this manhwa. It is dark and at times splattered. The demonic faces pulled by Chunchu and his brother are striking and the actions scenes are fluid. The style used to portray bloody battle scenes and old world landscapes is brilliant and engrossing. The dark depths of the art make you want to know more about the boy with his head hanging low in the middle of a battle, the demonic marks and just how crazed Chunchu can become.
Also of note is the distinct lack of care when it comes to portraying the physical body realistically. There are many mangas and animes out there with unrealistic body-types and this manhwa follows the same trend, though thankfully not to its extremes. Six packs conceivably become eight packs, shoulders so heavy characters should fall over, but that's all no never mind once you get used to it.

I'd recommend this manhwa to: those interested in gory action, demons and historical fighting methods. I'd say that anyone who likes gory action movies would likely enjoy this manhwa.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.

Rosy's scrawled book recommendation: Dark Time by Dakota Banks

Dark Time

Dakota Banks

Blurb

Three hundred years ago, she sold her soul to a demon. Now she wants it back.
For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life - as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she saves a life for every one she has taken, she will be free.
But if she fails, her punishments will be unspeakable, unendurable . . . and neverending.

Publisher

Harper Voyager

ISBN

978-0062049988

Rosy's scrawlings on Dark Time

I picked up Dark Time when it first came out mainly because the cover, while portraying a woman wearing leather, didn't portray the main character as "sexy and she knows it" while the blurb on the back had nothing to do with such things. Upfront honesty in a book cover is always appreciated, plus the accurate portrayal of the mood of a book. So for those reasons I picked up this book while it was still the only Dakota Banks book printed.

The first thing I'd like to point out about the story is that it truly shouldn't be read only by women. Yes, the main character is a woman but this isn't a dreamy, waffly romance that will get most men's back up about how high the expectations of them are or how nonsensical the love is. Instead, what you get is a hefty dose of dark, bloody and intriguing along with a pretty original concept of how a person must gain redemption/freedom and just what the costs are. There is no standard sexy demon with black wings or even scaly demon and nor is there a look into the heavenly side of things. What you get instead is a demon that's almost intangible and undefinable, a past filled with human jealousy, greed and rage and a future that looks to be short and rather uncomfortable.

Otherwise, there's a mystery for Maliha to solve, people's lives to save and a clock that's ticking away. There's plenty of weaponry and strategies and one of the most horrible scenes I've read in a while. I won't say what it is but I will say it wasn't horrible due to shock value or gore but rather the level of cruelty and disregard given to one character. Let's just say the scene has since been stuck in my mind. The mood also remains intense throughout and it along with the ticking clock (as it were - if I say too much I'll just be spoiling your fun) compels you to read on.

I'm pretty sure that this book will exceed your expectations for a first publication. The writing style is smooth and the atmosphere created tense and dark. There isn't any section you could point to and say it could have been left out and there's plenty of complexity in the plot and character motivations. The characters, while mostly on the cynical and dark side of things are believable within the bounds of dark fantasy/horror. And there's nary a gushing heroine in sight. All in all, it reads as though it isn't Dakota Banks' first publication.

And I have to add again, the cover for this one is really well done.

I'd recommend this book to: anyone interested in gritty dark fantasy or horror and anyone interested in an intense read. I'd like to also recommend Dark Time those men out there looking to read books with serious female leads that aren't entirely romance driven and can fight with the best of them.

Rosy's scrawled book recommendation: Keeping It Real by Justina Robson

Keeping It Real
Justina Robson

Blurb

The Quantum Bomb of 2015 changed everything. The fabric that kept the universe's different dimensions apart was torn and now, six years later, the people of earth exist in uneasy company with the inhabitants of, amongst others, the elfin, elemental, and demonic realms. Magic is real and can be even more dangerous than technology. Elves are exotic, erotic, dangerous, and really bored with the constant "Lord of the Rings" references. Elementals are a law unto themselves and demons are best left well to themselves. Special agent Lila Black used to be pretty, but now she's not so sure. Her body is more than half restless carbon and metal alloy machinery, a machine she's barely in control of. It goes into combat mode, enough weapons for a small army springing from within itself, at the merest provocation. As for her heart, well, ever since being drawn into a game by the elfin rockstar Zal (lead singer of the No Shows), who she's been assigned to protect, she's not even sure she can trust that any more either.

Publisher
Pyr

ISBN
978-1591025399

Rosy's scrawlings on Keeping it Real
You'll have to forgive me if I start slipping into speaking of the series and not just this book. I love the story too much and get a bit carried away at times.
I picked up this book, not having read anything of Justina Robson's before, purely because of the cover and the blurb which highlighted that science fiction and fantasy genre trends were going to be combined. I had high hopes and oh were they met. I was a happy girl within  moments as I read about Lila Black's upgrades and physical problems. What better way to  start a story is there than to delve straight into a cyborg's experiences? What impressed me though, was just how well the science fiction and fantasy elements were combined. And this continued into the next books without a hitch.
Life in Lila Black's world/s is not simple. Relationships aren't straight forward by any means, upgrades aren't without their price, the landscape keeps shifting under Lila's feet and there's always a challenge from unexpected quarters to be met. On top of that, death seems to be just around every corner but Lila seems to have a new knack for survival, one she lacked before her upgrades. But best of all, is the number of weapons Lila has packed into her body. Anyone a fan of cyborgs and robots is likely to read her story with glee. Oh, and I have to let this slip - in the subsequent books she doesn't stay as she is. I'll leave the rest for you to find out but she does become something quite new in the way of cyborgs and robots.
To be perfectly honest, it has come down to this. If you say you're a sci-fi or fantasy nut and I walk into your house and you don't have this series on your shelf then I find it hard to take you seriously. Being a person who likes Star Wars and Star Trek and WOW and all that is one thing. There are plenty of people who fit into that category. But to be a real sci-fi or fantasy nut is, to me, to seek out all the stories that delve into the genres, break new ground and tear up all your expectations as soon as you start reading or watching. Just like if you see Asimov on someone's shelf, this series is a good indicator of sci-fi and fantasy fandom. Don't believe me? Read it and see. It is a flavour all its own so I dare you to say it doesn't have a place on your sci-fi/fantasy shelf.

I'd recommend this book to: anyone who loves fantasy and science fiction, especially when they're combined well. Anyone who loves cyborgs and robots. Those who love trippy scene descriptions and unexpected events that really demand of the imagination.

Rosy's scrawled book recommendation: I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

I Am Not A Serial Killer
Dan Wells

Blurb
John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.
He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.
He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.
Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognise that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.
Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

Publisher
Tor Books

ISBN
0765327821

Rosy's scrawlings on I Am Not A Serial Killer
This book is the first of a trilogy, a trilogy which I've finished reading but hope to see more of. I found John Cleaver's thought processes to be very interesting and a pretty accurate portrayal of a sociopaths, with the struggle to be normal or to survive in the 'normal' world brilliantly expressed against a backdrop of more typical sociopathic desires. John Cleaver isn't a serial killer, doesn't want to be one and because of that sociopathy gain a new fictional character that sheds light on what it might be like to live with the condition but not actually devolve into the worst state we know: a serial killer. Of course, more is revealed and the struggle becomes darker in the subsequent books but what you're likely to find yourself peering at is a young, well portrayed version of a Dexter like character, with a young boy deciding to use his sociopathy for good rather than for killing. How that turns out, I'll leave for you to discover.
I Am Not A Serial Killer book is captivating, not only for the thought processes of John Cleaver but also for the style of writing that expresses the tension and stark darkness that swirls about John. He isn't capable of making certain connections, thinking in certain ways or feeling certain things and within the story these concepts and feelings are only illustrated in others. The writing becomes a barrier much like John's mind or eyes, through which see a blurred image of ourselves. Sometimes understandable and at other times completely incomprehensible. The often disastrous illogic behind the actions of most 'normal' people or non-sociopathic people (John is rather blinkered on other mental illnesses or conditions) is there to see in stark detail as John ponders or rages over it.
To me, the psychology of John Cleaver was the most interesting aspect of the book, as you can tell from the above. But I'm also a fan of paranormal and supernatural fiction and particularly like seeing it blended with other genres. In I Am Not A Serial Killer crime thriller is blended with the demonic and for that you can have some fun following the negotiations a person unwilling to become a serial killer goes through when facing the possibility of killing, albeit a demon. Then you can have fun figuring out if killing a demon is acceptable or not, much like whether Dexter's kills are acceptable or not as those he kills are all killers themselves.
In I Am Not A Serial Killer though, I found the tie between demons, crime and sociopathy to be a little loose even though you could view the demons as evil people and work with that. In the following books, however, this tie becomes a non-issue as the world of John Cleaver becomes cemented even as he continues to struggle against himself. So, for those worried about the supernatural aspects or a little put off by them (you like pure crime more) just give it a whirl and by the end of I Am Not A Serial Killer you might just find yourself too curious to give up. To me, continuing on was well worth it for being able to see the world through John's eyes.
Also of note, I found the glimpse of what it would be like to mother a sociopath, knowing his or her condition, rather intriguing. There are a few other congenital and mental conditions where the role of the mother and her trials and tribulations is more well known within society. But what it is like being the mother of a sociopath definitely isn't, not until you see an overly-stressed mother crying and shaken after a disaster. Sociopathy is often looked on from the outside with fear and a lack of understanding, the people with it characterised as serial killers or potential serial killers more often than not. It is this characterisation along with his impulses that John struggles with. But you also see his mother struggling to tie him to the 'normal' world, have him recognise people as people, react correctly, follow rules of behaviour to keep John and others safe all while protecting John's heart and mind from damage caused either by himself or the actions of others. What it would be like to try to raise a sociopath to function, hopefully well, within society is briefly, tantalisingly there in the background of John's perceptions and for this alone I'd say this book is well worth reading.
I Am Not A Serial Killer is quite addictive and once you've become hooked you find yourself in a bubble world with half or more of your connections with reality cut. Reading I Am Not A Serial Killer really makes you realise just how differently humans can perceive the same world and each other as well as how much effort goes into all of us getting along.

I'd recommend this book to: anyone interested in psychology, psychology's involvement in crime, teen boys after an interesting read and those who like crime mixed with the paranormal. This book would likely appeal to males more than females due to the lead character's gender and the style of writing but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in psychology. I believe this book is sometimes seen as a kid's or teen's book due to the age of the protagonist but ignore that completely. It isn't, although teens would likely love it.