An In-depth City View: Manila After Dark -- Manila Noir Book Review

Manila Noir Cover by Anvil Publishing

I have been living in Manila for three years already now. In a modest two-floor bungalow house near the University of Santo Tomas with my parents and older brother with a monthly rent of fifteen thousand pesos. It was not entirely a new setting for me, spending time in Manila, I mean, during my High School days back in Bulacan, wherein transportation to Manila was so easy (much easier than here in the city itself, I must say) we used to lurk in the malls around Quezon City and as far as Pasay, Greenhills and Divisoria. But when we finally settled in the city for good, that was when I realized that there were so much more to the city than the posh malls, traffic, pollution, and the informal settlers we see.

With my course being Journalism, I easily got used to commute around Manila (something I was not used to) to cover events and meet people for interviews. Soon, the number of places I am familiar with expanded. Starting from the University parameter, to Recto, Quiapo, Cubao, Santa Cruz, Vito Cruz, Mandaluyong, Pasay, the Fort, Binondo, and take it as far as Pasig and Muntinlupa.

When I learned about the Manila Noir, I was so excited and curious about it. There was also this pride I felt having a Noir book dedicated to the city. As much as I would love to have my hands on that books first hand, school had been pretty bitchy for me and money was so hard to save given that there were just so many things to pay for and places to go to. It was only during my cover for this year's Manila International Book Fair in SMX that I was finally able to grab a copy of the book.

A new perception of the city whooshed into my system as I read the stories one after the other. The short stories in this book written by our very own authors (some I've long since admired and some I've recently just heard of) proved that we, Filipinos, can write in the same manner that other internationally famous authors can and that we can stand side by side these people and be proud of our country. Their Noir stories opened an entirely new image of Manila for me. The Manila after dark, Manila away from the Malls and Universities I was used to. Each stories revealed a part of the Manila as a place and the Manilenos and how they live their lives.

It was evident in the stories that the theme, romance, will never leave us, Filipinos, that even in mystery/ crime stories there will always be the thread of romance entangled in it. I personally like R. Zamora Linmark's Carino Brutal and Jessica Hagedorn's Old Money. They may not be the most 'romantic' in the collection of stories, but talking about love, they exposed a different kind of love (by that, I don't mean homosexual). It's the love that people usually forgot in times when they are in a relationship only to remember it again in that moment when they've lost everything and felt empty that they realized that above all; they always love their selves first.

The stories also gave us a larger picture of the social strata that we always heard of but never fully felt the situation ourselves. With Lysley Tenorio's Aviary where it was set in the vicinity of a posh mall in the city that forbids poor and suspicious people from entering said mall. It also revealed the Filipinos love for superstitions, revenge, and drugs.

Reading the book was such an experience for me that I know I will never be able to look at the city with my dreamy, empty eyes that wasn't really looking at the city properly. With every corner, streets, and avenues I will pass by, I know that there is a lurking story that is just waiting to be told.

Book Review: Dynasty of Ghosts

Summer Writing Challenge

3. Review a movie/book/anything

Dynasty of Ghosts

First of all, this is a yaoi (m/m) novel so if you cannot take the prospect of ever reading something like that then hey, you have no business reading this review. But hey wait! It doesn't really kill to try something like this for the mere purpose of broadening your horizon just a tad bit, isn't it? But if you're okay with this thing then carry on and read my humble review of this wonderful book.

The summary of the book can be found in goodreads so I don't really need to repeat it here, I'm just itching to rant about this book. Here, check out the plot first: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7132358-dynasty-of-ghosts

Now, done reading? Okay here goes. I really love this book but it is a very long read. It has more than 270,000 words and that was like a quarter of the Harry Potter series which is fine with me being a heavy reader. Unfortunately I only read it in e-book format but just like most of what the reviewers stated, if you ever pay more than $7 for this book, you'd find it worth it in the end and even willing to spend more for it. It's just that awesome.

There are a lot of negative things in this book. I thought I would put it first for you so that we can eradicate negative thoughts about this book first and we shall relish all the goodness of it later on. There are lots, lots, LOTS of grammatical errors in it. I don't know what happened to its editor or if it was even edited, I doubt. You can see errors on simple subject-verb agreements, verb tenses, mistakes such as using "breath" for "breathe". Confusion on using -ing or -ed ending verbs and such. Misspelled words were everywhere, even the spacing err. Over all the mistakes were noticeable much to the point that if I would be given a chance to edit this book, I'd do it for free just to see some of the mistakes corrected (not that I'm perfect or anything, just reduce it a tad bit.) But if you're not a grammar nazi who'd kill for wrong grammar then, please, don't turn your back on this book. You'd regret it, like, yeah, for real.

Also, illya is a girl. No he's a guy, this being a yaoi but damn that beau acts like a girl most of the time. That painful  need of a guy is there, rarely, but there nonetheless which is good. He's not overly dramatic sopping  on the corners for such a tough love. (The main reason I don't like hetero romances that much.) No, hardly. he contemplates, yes. he's scared, he's reluctant and hesitant which is fine if you're a ranger and your lover is the prince heir, but he is overly attached to his religion condemning this and that is bad. He couldn't accept that this is love we have over here and you cannot do anything when it comes to that. Although I don't blame him for that I blame his family for that, poor Illya and his childhood. He's lonely and naive, pretty dense as well and he blush furiously most of the time! His reactions to sex were girly as well and if not for some statements regarding his thing between his legs I would think that Ashe is having sex with a girl! Well I think it's just the way it is. I doubt if the book would be as good as it is if Illya's different.

I also hate the fact that sometimes Nunn wrote like a seasonal writer meaning there's a part in the book wherein she continuously used 'one must..' 'one does not..' like a broken record and it's just disturbing and all.

On the good parts, I love the idea of the ghosts here in the story. It's not the usual pity or scary difference. It's much more than that. There's frustrations, so much more madness and viciousness  hatred, anger and pure evil. The plot twist  regarding the ghosts are realistic and appealing at best sometimes you'd even get goosebumps but not the usual ghost goosebumps we get from ordinary ghosts stories, it's the goosebumps you get from thrill and expectations and speculations presented in the story. Also, Ashe is lovely. At the first part of the book, you'd be fascinated with Illya and his gentle, lonely personality, his ability to see ghost, his beautiful long hair and such, and on the other hand you'd find Ashe as the arrogant  cunning, needy (yet very charming) handsome prince who forced himself on Illya. But as the story progresses, you'd come to a point where you would stop with a sudden realization that you already love Ashe. Ashe is as princely as any prince heir is expected to be. Handsome, strong and courageous but inside that, you'll see a man tired and bitter by his father's attitude to a second son who never really caught his affection. You'll see a man tired of the intrigues and poisonous mouths and eyes hovering him for the intention of getting attached to the second most powerful person in the kingdom with so much as a pretense of a good friend or a concerned and loyal lover. Ashe is lonely as much as Illya was for the loss of a mother and a brother whom he could consider as the few who really loved him. He's eaten by the guilt that he was not able to do anything to save the people he loved so much. He is a man deprived of true love..a child deprived of paternal love and a childhood that he very much deserved  Ashe is a gentle soul entrapped in a tough vessel tossed out in a deadly place. Ashe is a man afraid to love someone for the fear of losing them and him being left alone once again. Ashe longed for a father that could love him despite of all the circumstances. Ashe longs for love and he found a kindred soul in Illya in that direst situation of his life.

Nunn did great with the flow of the story. Despite it's length,you'd hardly find a boring spot in this book. The world of this book was wonderfully crafted without much trying too hard. Just like with Ashe, you'd find yourself in the world without even thinking about it. It was a flow like no other that at one point you're in your chair reading it, the next you're there overseeing Ashe and Illya's affairs with a vivid vision of everything not in the way that every single thing was being described to you with such lengthy words, but a brief and enchanting description that leaves a room for your imagination to expand it beautifully.

Most of the readers were disappointed in the ending of the book and long for a sequel, I do want a sequel too but I'm not disappointed in the ending as much as they do (quite grouchy with some loopholes, though) for I understood that the scene in the ending is the most beautiful way to end that mundane and painful situation they're in. Turn around forget everything and escape reality but know that you would have to go back to it sooner or later. That's why this love is so beautiful and painful. 

Sophie Newman: The Mistress of Wisdom

This is nothing of importance, I was just fascinated by how Michael Scott made this girl. Sophia in the greeks means wisdom. And Sophie on the first book, accepted the Witch of Endor's memories and made her very wise and throughout the series that vast knowledge helped them escape lots of problems and revealed lots of secrets. Sophie was always the rational one between the twins, she always reminded Josh about things that usually led to their arguments  But really, I'm sure josh would be led astray without the girl's unending blabber and rants (a very good example is the incident with the Archon, Coatlique).

On the later part of The Enchantress. Sophie, together with Virginia saved the humans and led them to other parts of the world and taught them things that they would need to survive.

The Irony of the Life That John Dee Lived

Humani. The word never meant that much to me before. It was an ancient name for us, humans that's all--or so I thought. But for the Dark Elders and the likes of John Dee, they used the word as a form of insult for the short-lived, powerless, and simple-minded humans like us.

John Dee was known as the royal advisor for the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I and gained popularity when together, they defeated the Spanish Armada. That was the first ever role that made this man experience that he is above any ordinary man, that he can do extraordinary things. Throughout the series, Dee served his unknown masters on the surface and ruthlessly destroyed places and killed humans, but despite that outward appearance we can always get a glimpse of small emotions, admiration (especially towards Josh) and a little bit of his previous memories that made me decide that John Dee is not that bad at all. (He did a lot of unforgivable things though.)

Towards the end of the series though, when Dee's masters did the unthinkable--and removed the immortality of the man and made him an ancient helpless poor soul and left him to die, Josh, as always the kind-hearted one left his coat to keep the old man from the cold and Dee left him his dying advice--to follow his heart. That statement led Josh to the right decision in the end. One good point of kindness for our old man!

The second good point is his effort to catch up to the quite emotional Miss Dare who is busy using their arguments as an act to catch the attention of the people. Dee tried to understand Virginia for the last time, realizing that after so many years of being together, he knew nothing about the woman at all. The ice cream conversation was cute, by the way.

Third point is his effort to use the word Humans instead of  Humani. It showed that the ruthless and immortal Dee was gone and he again, a human tried to repent for what he did and did his best to be useful just for the last time.

Fourth. The smarty pants. He went back to his role of being an advisor to the queen (saying that Virginia would be considered as a queen by those people). He laid out an elaborate plan to Virginia that saved thousands of humans and helped saved the sun god, Aten.

Fifth and the most important good point. He gave up his life to save the humans! All hail John Dee! Together with Virginia Dare (whose role is to be the leader and figure of the humans) they built a shield to protect the humans from the arrows by using the wind (Miss Dare is the mistress of air, after all) to stop the arrows from hitting the people and by turning it on the opposite direction and killed the army. Knowing that this would be the cause of his death, he willingly gave up his aura up to the last drop leaving just a tiny bit to say his farewell to Virginia and Scathach.

It is the greediness that accompanied every immortal that made Dee a ruthless killer and destroyer. He was blinded by his desire to rule over everything. He was fascinated by what his powers can do. (every immortal from the series are like that, in one way or another) But without his immortality, Dee went back to being a human, and along with it, showed us a better part of him.