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This large 310 page book has only just begun to tell the story of Nambul. This book only sets up the conflicts that I am certain will be the main focus of the story in the future. It primarily concerns a teenage gang leader named Hae-Sung. He is a Korean youth living in Japan who won’t take crap from anyone. He does what he wants, when he wants to without fear from the police or any other authority. Why is he so confident you ask? Well his older brother is one of the richest men in Japan and always bails Hae-Sung out when he gets into trouble. While Hae-Sung leads his gang, fights with his family, and tries to express his love in very unconventional ways, another conflict is brewing in the Middle-East. Saddam is up to his old tricks again, and has staged another attack on Kuwait. The Japanese government is considering the possibility of seizing this moment to build up an attack force so that they can help rebels in Indonesia take power; all so that Japan can get an oil contract that will provide them with enough oil to last 50 years. These two separate stories build and build until Hae-Sung and the military men behind the planning of this new invasion come face to face at the end of the book. Where it goes from there remains to be seen. This is a highly violent and politically intense book like nothing I have seen illustrated before. The author Hyun Se Lee is truly a genius when it comes to complex and realistic storylines, particularly involving violence. This is definitely a book for mature readers, and may even be too politically charged for some who consider themselves to be mature. Some of the things I like about it are the art and the complexity. The art is well drawn, with superb detail of backgrounds, vehicles, weapons and people, but is can often reflect silliness within the characters; the standard dramatic over-exaggeration of characters features to represent embarrassment, surprise, etc. The complexity of the storyline is intense and well laid out throughout the book. Pieces of the story concerning the Iraq war are constantly being updated on televisions, radios, etc. while the Hae-Sung story continues. The two themes of Hae-Sung and the war are very well integrated and followed throughout. What I didn’t like about this story was its lack of likeable characters and serious political nature. For me, the lack of likeable characters ids tragic in storytelling. Even if a story is about an evil person, there should be something about them that is relatable and appealing to keep the interest of the reader. I tried to like Hae-Sung, but he was just too much of a bastard. None of the other characters had any redeeming qualities either. My other complaint is basically a personal one. Although I am well aware and concerned with global politics, I see far too much of it in real life to want to spend my time reading fictional accounts of the same subject. It was tedious in a way to have to see the fears of war and invasion explicitly examined. This book is well done and complex. It is a presentation of the possibilities of world politics, and how wars begin. Personally, it doesn’t give me very happy feeling when reading it. It leaves me with a bit of distaste, but I see the value of its art and its content. This could be a wonderful read for someone who is very interested in the subject of war or the darker sides of humanity. Its disturbing, intense and well done; it just won’t ever be something that I love to read. Here’s hoping we can avoid World War III. -brant-
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