Brave Story Reviews

• Great Fantasy Novel

  
  By A1DM8V4DDNKRK7 on 2007-10-07
  A boy, whose family is in crisis, sets out on a journey into a fantastical world in order to change his destiny. Actually, there is a lot more to the book than this.
  
  The lead character, Wataru, faces many different kinds of struggles. In addition to combating magical statues and demons, he also faces real psychological and moral dilemmas. Faced with two, complex worlds, Wataru frequently struggles to decide what is right and how he should proceed. It is easy to empathize with characters on both sides of many of this book's conflicts. As such, this complex book really makes you think.
  
  In this book, there are both fantastical elements and real-world elements. This is what makes the book so remarkable. In fact, the first couple hundred pages of this weighty tome (the book itself is over 800 pages long) are set in the real world and deal primarily with Wataru's domestic crises as his family begins to fall apart. The first chunk of the book does have strong, very-important fantasy themes, but these are used largely for the benefit of telling Wataru's domestic story.
  
  And then, once Wataru does enter and remain in the fantasy world, his real-world problems continue to plague him. The fantasy world, Vision, resembles the real world in many important respects.
  
  In the beginning of the book, the fantasy world bleeds into the real world. In the rest of the book, the real world bleeds into the fantasy world.
  
  I'm sure I'm making the book sound too dry. For most of the book, I was on the edge of my seat, racing through pages, seeing and experiencing the adventures Wataru faces. My heart was racing as Wataru barely survived his encounters with demons, magical statues, and the worshipers of the old God. This book is, for the large part, a truly fast read, and often it is quite gripping. I finished this 800 page behemoth in the course of a week.
  
  I've heard people compare this book to books from the Harry Potter series. While there are numerous similarities, "Brave Story" is a far darker novel. I probably wouldn't have liked this book as much had it not been for some very dark, scary moments. I like those moments - they make the book seem more real and relevant. Much of the book isn't disturbing at all, but some of it really is. This is something to keep in mind.
  
  I loved this book - sometimes-dark, it was always complex and gripping and had great characters and a wonderful fantasy world. A true must-read.
  
  
  

• Outstanding

  
  By A37GX213HM88DR on 2007-08-26
  This is a book that turned out to be a little different from my expectations. Judging from the cover, the book appears to almost be a children's story, or much lighter in tone. Unlike the book jacket, the first 200 pages of the book have almost nothing to do with the fantasy world of Vision... it is mostly grounded in the real world, where Waturu goes through daily life in modern Japan: days of school, times with his friend, and the collapse of his family and his parent's impending divorce.
  
  This story struck me as an instant classic. I found it to be deeply moving; at times quite dark, yet also uplifting and inspiring. The characters are quite memorable, and you want to embrace them all. One of the things I found the most thought provoking is that all of the characters-- even the ones that do terrible things and could be considered the villains-- do things for reasons that can be readily understood and even sympathized with. When Wataru's parents talk of divorce, you can see how painful and touchy a subject it is, and why both sides want what they do. Neither side is completely right, neither side is completely wrong. The motivations and approaches of Wataru and Mitsuru are polar opposites, yet you sympatize with both.
  
  This is a moving book, and has a deep undercurrent of complicated emotions. A very enjoyable read that I found very difficult to put down. I am very happy that I bought this book in hardcover, as I look forward to reading it again and again. An instant favorite.
  
  

• Phenomenal read

  
  By A4GQB81METUSA on 2007-08-31
  A very deceptive book that initially comes across as a typical 'save the magical world' novel but is actually far, far deeper and has incredible character development and emotional explanation. The characters, desite their fantastic background, appealed to my own emotions as they go through happy and sad times very similar to real life. A must-read to anyone.
  
  

• remarkable!! Don't hesitate to buy this book!!

  
  By A1BYVG49FT57X3 on 2007-12-30
  My obsession with Brave story actually came to me at a convention. I was watching fan-made music videos based on animated films, and Brave Story the movie was one used. I was captivated by it, and so searched for the film. My search, inevitably, lead me to this mammoth tome.
  It took me ages to get past the first two hundred pages or so. The reason for this is, well, because it was very slow... you follow Wataru, and you see the world as he sees it. There are no hints to any mishaps or unhappiness in his life. He's a normal kid, with normal issues.
  It's when his life falls apart that it hits you... you realize that, like Wataru himself, you've been tricked into thinking everything was safe. You feel his frustration when no one tells him what's going on; you want to punch his dad square in the face for saying the things he says. Essentially, during that slow and uneventful 200 pages, you've BECOME Wataru. And you feel his pain as your own.
  After that, you're thrust into a world of magic and wonder. It doesn't take long to see that Vision reflects Wataru's inner turmoil. The depth of this book aside, the characters are remarkable. You love them all, even those who are Wataru's antagonists.
  The cover gives this book an air of simplicity, but I assure you, it's not a novel dumbed down for children to read.
  For those of you who love fantasy... who enjoyed Harry potter, and Lord of the Rings, and any number of fantastical tales, this book is beautiful. I have yet to finish it, but I'm in no hurry! I want to prolong the adventure for as much as I can, because I know when I'm finished, I'll find myself missing Wataru, Meena, and Kee Keema terribly.
  
  
  

• like two different books mashed together

  
  By A28NR8XB8EQ2WV on 2008-04-29
  I grabbed this book on the shelf based on the reviews here, and was really disappointed. For the first 200 pages, it's really interesting, altho' very dark for younger readers. The hero, Wataru, struggles with all the challenges of grade-school social life as his family begins falling apart, leading to his mother's attempt to kill them both, even as he explores the mysteries of a strange portal in an abandoned building. Around page 200, however, he crosses over into this new world on a quest-- and this is where the book completely lost me. The new world looks, sounds and appears to be entirely based on RPG games; the author tries to finesse this by arguing that, since the fantasy world is based on Wataru, and Wataru likes RPG games, it's okay that this world is so derivative. No one who has ever played an RPG game/D&D or even read much fantasy will be surprised by anything that happens from here on out, however; this reminded me a lot of the slew of terrible books that came out in the wake of D&D in the 80s where people appeared to be writing quest novels by rolling die and reporting back the results. Wataru himself also becomes fairly inconsistent, since the author needs him to act older than his age for the story to work. Worst of all, the author doesn't return to real-world Japan except for a few pages at the end, leaving very unresolved all the set-up that came before. This felt like a good YA book about divorce squashed up against a derivative RPG quest; that the latter was 500 pages long was, I thought, just depressing.
  
  
• Wonderful
  By A2XKY9Z23H8Q3N on 2008-07-01
  The only nitpick that I have about this book is that it was a little drawn out for my taste. I usually can dinish off a 700+ page book in less than 24 hours. This took me a little longer. I ended ip reading it in sessions. Id read it for awhile, get irritated that it wasnt as fast paced as I wished it were, get distracted and pick the book back up where i left off a week later and do it all over again.
  
  With that said however, i do LOVE this book. It is incradibly detailed, beautiful, adventurous, action packed and incredibly imaginative. It really brought back memories of my over active imagination past and present when i used to daydream stuff like this happening to me, getting kicked out of my third grade math lesson, and sent to the Principals office where my mom was called.
  
  Brave Story IS AMAZING by the time it is done, and it leaves you sitting, imagining that you had a life as incredible and as wierd as this. You go from seeing the main character as a kid from a newly broken home, getting a chance to possibly change things and set them right, and going on an awe inspiring journey through another plane of existance and interacting will all sorths of strange people, creatures, places, and situations, to not only fix his life, form his own destiny, and having to succeed because failure means never going home.
  This book took ages longer then it usually does for me to read stuff, but it was still satisfying and i LOVE it. I reccomend it to anyone who likes fantasy.
  
  
• A Classic (almost)
  By A1HRHCPCYUWXIF on 2008-08-29
  Myabe's Brave Story is a young adult novel that has all the elements of a potential classic but just falls short the bar. As the book opens, we see Wataru as a very typical 10 year old, juggling school, friends, cram school and patiently saving for the next release of his favorite video game. He copes with school bullies and is fascinated by a partially constructed and then abandoned building that is rumored to be haunted. As with Myabe's adult thrillers, however, there is the subtle but inescapable undercurrent of something darker lurking in the shadows.
  
  Wataru's life starts to unravel. He begins hearing a sweet, girls voice gently teasing and reassuring him. The haunting of the strange, abandoned building becomes something more than a schoolyard rumor and a mysterious, new student arrives at his school while other students mysteriously disappear. Then, he learns that is father is abandoning his family to live with another woman. To this point (about two hundred pages in to this lengthy book), Miyabe's writing is at its taught and spellbinding best.
  
  Wataru discovers that a stairway in the abandoned building is a temporary gateway to a parallel world called Vision and he is one of two Travelers destined to make the crossing into this fantastic place. He is given the opportunity to set forth on a quest in Vision that will let him change his destiny and reunite his broken family. But he also discovers that Vision is on the verge of an Armageddon that he may have the power to prevent.
  
  Quite remarkably, soon after the story moves to Vision, the pace of the book starts slowing to a crawl. As with her other novels, the characters Miyabe creates in the "real world" are deftly nuanced. Even if they are painted with simple strokes, they have depth and credibility. Once in Vision, the characters become cartoonish and one-dimensional, like sprites and avatars in a computer game. The world of Vision is not only burdened by impending doom, but mired down by long pages of narrative back-story. Miyabe is building a poignant and important allegory, but it is weighed down by lengthy and detailed explanations that would be better served by suggestion. Through many of the middle chapters, I felt like someone watching somebody else playing a lavish video game. I was impressed by the scenery and the unusual characters, but had just a passing interest in what was going on.
  
  Brave Story does come to a stunning, fast-paced climax that shows Miyabe's talent in this genre. Also, the book ends in a way that leaves some very intriguing options for a sequel that could be far better than the original. In ten years, when the gateway to Vision opens again, I will gladly join Wataru if he returns.
  
  
• A good coming-of-age novel
  By A2KL01WT5PO7MX on 2007-11-12
  I wasn't sure what to expect out of this book since I couldn't find that many reviews on line. I have to admit that the cover-art was what drew me to the book.
  
  After reading the first 200 or so pages of the book, I wondered when it would start to pick up. When it finally did (around page 250 or so), I was glad that I continued reading it.
  
  The fantasy world of Vision is so rich and the characters so detailed that I felt as attached to that world as Wataru (the main character) did. I actually cared about what happened to that world.
  
  I'm a fan of RPGs and I could see a lot of similarities between this book and some well-known RPG games. This is a plus for me, but even for someone who isn't into video games, the book can be enjoyable just as a coming-of-age novel.
  
  
• Thought Provoking, Beautiful, and Endearing
  By A2P0SSQ2VIMG9P on 2008-06-01
  It's a shame really -- I wish I had the creativity and imagination Miyuki Miyabe has to create this intricate novel full of originality and artistic imagery. I found myself anxiously turning every page wondering what adventures Wataru (main charachter) would find himself in next.
  
  Wataru, is an 11 year old boy facing the struggles of divorce. His Dad leaves the family without an ounce of shame while Wataru watches his Mom wither away in depression. Wataru's accepts an offer to enter the world of "Vision" whose objective is to reach the Tower of Destiny in order to chanage his fate in the "real world".
  
  As a world created by the imaginations of ordinary people, Vision is the direct source of Wataru's thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams. In his travels through the magical world he befriends two companions who help him on his adventure: the talking feline, Meena and the Lizard humanoid, Kee-Keema. Together they battle demons, defeat various monsters, and meet an array of interesting and helpful animal-folk.
  
  This book was engaging to the very end. Miyabe is detailed in her descriptions making all the charachters come to life. All the way from talking felines, lizards, dragons, and birds -- every charachter is colorful in personality forcing you to fall in love with every last one of them. Wataru is a courageous explorer who wears his heart on his sleeve. He's even described by his antagonist as "too nice,right down to the bitter end".
  
  This is a story about a boy who defeats the odds, grows in courage, and gives a new meaning to the word brave.
  
  
  
  
• A classic in my contemporary library...
  By A3AVGZI852D7FH on 2008-07-17
  There is a lot to say about this thick version of Brave Story. I saw it in the Fantasy/SciFi section of a book store and thought I might be interested in reading it. The beginning of the book is sometimes slow and a pain to read but the momentum picks up in places allowing the reader to continue with hope. The second part of the book, where our beloved Wataru enters Vision, is filled with description, depth, and complex real-world ideas. At times it is almost too hard to maintain everything learned from page one (the story-line and events are written as though designed for an RPG, only here there is no strategy guide), but that is what makes it so great. It's worth a second read to catch every little thing missed.
  
  I would recommend it for adults though, and possibly not children only because the reading can become overwhelming (but if you have a child who can pull through Pullman (Golden Compass), they can pull through this).
  
  All in all, four out of five. A great modern book.
  
  

• Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
• The Cat: Or, How I Lost Eternity
• The Devil's Whisper
• Dragon Sword and Wind Child
• Feathers