Seikai: Crest of the Stars Volume 3: Return to a Strange World (Seikai) Reviews

• Courtesy of Teens Read Too

  
  By A2TX179XAT5GRP on 2007-01-07
  Hiroshi Ishizaki's premise for this novel is an interesting one: Have characters who do not know each other writing a novel within a novel. Four lonely teens--Yukari, Sawako, Mai, and Mayumi--enter into the world of role playing through an anonymous chain e-mail, allowing them to create a fictional world in which each girl assumes the role of a character. The girls then write scenes from their respective character's point of view, building a story with the intention of creating their own private, if fictitious, world of mystery and intrigue.
  
  Eventually, however, the words of the created heroine begin to ring true in the girls' real lives: "When you talk about scary things, people start to think that you're the one who's scary" (p. 38). Only, in this case, those coming to consider the girls scary are not outsiders, but the girls themselves.
  
  CHAIN MAIL was originally published in Japan by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo, in 2003. It was later translated into English by Richard Kim and adapted by Rachel Manija Brown. While the overall concept is good, the translation does lapse into stilted, unnatural language on occasion, and American teens may find it hard to bond with the characters. From the girls' names to the situations in which they find themselves--stressing over "cram school;" removing their shoes and storing them in "shoe lockers" while attending classes; Mayumi "treating herself to a bowl of barbecued eel over rice" (p. 107)--many American girls will be unable, initially, to relate to these characters, and may give up on the story too early.
  
  But footnotes are included for the more confusing aspects--"cram schools," for example, are described as, "Schools in Japan that prepare students for university entrance examinations by way of an accelerated curriculum" (10)--and if the reader is willing to embrace an unfamiliar culture, she, too, may find herself slipping breathlessly into the fictitious world created by Ishizaki and, within its pages, the world of mystery and intrigue created by her central characters.
  
  Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard
  
  

• The continuation of a great SF saga

  
  By AOYUI6JCJYPOI on 2007-01-16
  Crest of the Stars: A Modest War picks up right where the first novel, Princess of the Empire, left off. Which is a good thing since Princess of the Empire ended off with a cliffhanger: Jinto and Lafiel were being held captive by Baron Febdash, who captured them when their desperate escape from the United Mankind fleet brought them to his orbital palace hoping to obtain fuel and supplies. Princess Lafiel has decided to take matters into her own hands and has started a rebellion among the Baron's vassals.
  
  Just to give a quick recap, Seikai is an immensely popular space-opera series by Japanese author Hiroyuki Morioka. Anime and manga adaptations have been available in English translation for some time, but this is the first time the original novels have been translated into English. It was well worth the wait.
  
  In the second novel we get more insight into the psyche and culture of the Seikai series' primary focus: the Abh. They are genetically engineered warriors who have made space their home, disdaining the planets inhabited by "landers." Over centuries they have built a massive empire based on both conquest and trade. We learn more about their history, including the terrible "original sin" which burdens the prideful Abh.
  
  The real delight of this novel is to see the blossoming relationship between Princess Lafiel and Jinto, the "accidental noble" lander who had his Abh title thrust upon him when he was a young boy. Brought together by chance, they now find themselves fighting for their lives and their freedom as both war and treachery threaten them at every turn. They become refugees, trying to hide and survive in enemy territory. Though their friendship grows and they are able to work together, their radically different backgrounds too often get in the way. They are very much an odd couple, and old prejudices threaten to tear them apart. But each comes to find unexpected sources of strength in the other, and they are able to persevere together for another day.
  
  The Crest of the Stars trilogy will conclude with the third novel "Return to a Strange World." But that will be just the beginning of a long epic, hopefully we will see the rest of the story that is still being released and enjoyed in Japan.
  
  I enjoyed the second novel as much as the first. The adventure and conflict is peppered with delightful moments of humor and irony. Fans of the anime or manga series should note that it is in the second novel where we really start to see a great deal of material which never made it into the adaptations. We finally get the story complete and unabridged.
  
  

• Seikai: Before the Anime

  
  By AZU0SM3MGE287 on 2007-01-12
  When "Seikai 1: Princess of the Empire" left off, Lafiel and Jinto - attempting to avoid getting caught the crossfire of a developing interstellar war - had been imprisoned while attempting to refuel their unarmed shuttle. This book picks up immediately where the first one left off, and describes Lafiel and Jinto's escape from the cluches of Baron Febdash, and completes their journey to Safugnoff. Sadly, the United Mankind arrived their first, and our intrepid duo are forced to crash-land on the planet and attempt to hide among the native population. For Lafiel, born and raised in space, this is an unsettling experience, as she has never so much as set foot upon a planet before. Jinto, however, if not exactly in his element, at least knows more about survival on planets and in cities than Lafiel, and so Lafiel is the one often unsure of herself, while Jinto takes the lead in their attempts to hide from the increasing efforts of the United Mankind to capture them.
  
  
  When I first heard that the Seikai novelization, upon which the "Crest of the Stars" anime and manga were based, was being translated, I was pleased. It's not often that Americans get a chance to see the printed material upon which many popular animated titles are based, and I'm glad that Tokyopop has taken the risk of bringing this series across the Pacific.
  
  This book gives greater detail about Abh history as well as the society of one of the planets ruled by the Abh, Clasbul in the Ssfugnoff system, in addition to furthering the development of the two main characters, Abh princess Lafiel and lander-turned-Abh-Nobel Jinto. Some really great character-building scenes in this novel.
  
  My greatest complaint would probably be the word choice used by either the translator or the editor/rewriter; frequently characters whom one would expect to have very refined, elegant speech sound like they're in high school. It doesn't detract from the story so much as decrease my suspension of disbelief; I don't expect the empress of half of humanity to use phrases like "You're all in cahoots!" when dealing with high-level diplomats when the Abh are known for their elegance.
  
  This novel is a good sci-fi read, whether or not you're familiar with the animated series. The concepts are easily within the grasp of young readers, and there is neither graphic violence nor "adult" situations. If you have seen the animated show, I'd recommend picking up this novel, and the first and third volumes, if only for the greater detail of characterization which can be packed into the written work compared to the visual interpretation. Some scenes from the anime don't make a lot of sense with only what is shown, but the added detail found in the novel makes some elements of the story easier to follow.
  
  

• Links in the Chain

  
  By A33H58TBFG3GSV on 2007-01-20
  Sawako, an overachieving junior high school student, is extremely lonely. Her mother is gone, her father distant, and her friends are non-existant. When she receives an email on her cell phone inviting her to be a part of an interactive story, she jumps at the chance to belong - even though the message came from someone she does not know.
  
  Two other junior high girls receive similar emails on their phones: Mayumi, who lives in the shadow of her intelligent and athletic best friend, and Mai, who would rather go clubbing (for the music, not necessarily the scene) than deal with the high expectations of diplomat family.
  
  They develop a story about a young girl, her tutor, her stalker, and a detective. Each girl writes for a certain character and posts their chapters at the website. The mysterious Yukari, the girl who started it all, writes the role of the stalker. As the story's suspense escalates, life begins to imitate art. Suddenly, Sawako goes missing in both stories, leaving the other girls to wonder what happened to her - and if it will happen to them next.
  
  Chain Mail: Addicted to You by Hiroshi Ishizaki embraces the story-within-a-story format from the very beginning, and keeps raising the stakes until the vey end. Cell phones are ever-present, making this cautionary tale ultra-contemporary. While racing through the book to find out who done it, American readers will subconsciously learn about Japanese culture and schooling.
  
  Chain Mail comes courtesy of Pop Fiction, a new teen fiction imprint from TokyoPop.
  
  

• Reviews on this page do not refer to this title

  
  By A1OULBHSJ1V22F on 2007-03-29
  I have not read the book yet so I cannot honestly review it.
  My rating is based on the Anime which is absolutely awesome.
  It is clear though that neither the editorial review abowe nor the other reviews on this page refer to the novel "Crest of the Stars II"!
  
  
  

• Seikai: Crest of the Stars Volume 1: Princess of the Empire (Seikai)
• The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow
• The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 2: Sea of Wind
• The Shape of Bonds (Seikai Trilogy, Vol. 2: Banner of the Stars)
• Protecting the Precious (Seikai Trilogy, Vol. 3: Banner of the Stars II)