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Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata – Death Note: Black Edition Volume IV | Review

Title: Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Author: Death Note: Black Edition Volume IV

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 417

Rating 3.5/5

I am still enjoying this series, but it’s starting to get samey by this point – and dare I say it, predictable? I don’t know, it’s just starting to feel a little bit as though the authors are trying to make it more complex at the expense of the actual story. Plus there was a character death that kind of bummed me out, although I kind of knew it was coming. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they turn out to not be dead.

I’ve compared Death Note to Prison Break in previous reviews, partly because each of these Black Edition bind-ups feels like a season of a TV show and partly because each individual issue ends up on a cliff hanger. It works, at least for a while, but at this point of the series the formula is starting to feel a little thin and I was kind of hoping for some extra innovation.

Still, I’m still enjoying reading through each of the different books in the series, it’s just that they went good, great, pretty good and then okay. That doesn’t fill me with much hope for the last two books in the series, but hey ho. I’m invested enough at this point that I want to see it through, and I also have a feeling that I’ve predicted a few of the twists and turns that the story is going to take.

I think another of the reasons why I gave this a 3.5/5 instead of a 4/5 or even a 4.5/5 is the fact that it’s getting hard to track who each of the death notes has belonged to. That then had the knock-on effect of making it difficult to theorise about what might happen next because there were too many different threads going on. But at the same time, I can see why that might appeal to some people.

All in all though, the series is pretty good and even though this isn’t the best installment, it’s worth reading and continuing on. There are only two more Black Editions to go now, and I will admit that I’m curious to see how it will end. I just think that at this rate, when I look back at it, it’ll be the first couple of editions that I think of. So yeah.

Click here to buy Death Note: Black Edition Volume IV.

Jeff Russell – The Beatles Album File & Complete Discography | Review

Title: The Beatles Album File & Complete Discography

Author: Jeff Russell

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 464

Rating: 7/10

Jeff Russell – The Beatles Album File & Complete Discography

This book is like the holy grail for Beatles fans – it’s effectively a printed database of every Beatles album that was ever released, including all of the variations that were released across the world, with comprehensive notes about the tracks which appear upon them.

Each song includes all of the information that you’re ever likely to need, including the length of the track, the personnel who feature on the recording, the dates and locations of the recording sessions, and a summary by the author, which highlights interesting trivia that even the most hardened Beatles fan might not happen to know.

It’s clearly a very well-written and very well-researched collection of information, but I do feel like it was difficult to just ‘read’ – it’s the sort of book that someone might keep in the bathroom or something, because you can only really dip in and out of it. It gets kind of overwhelming if you try to read it from start to finish, like I did.

The Beatles

The actual physical dimensions of the book are unusual, too – it’s square–shaped, which makes it stand out on my bookcase, and which is presumably an aesthetic choice to try to make the book more of a collector’s item or a novelty item. I think more could have been done with the design and the layout, perhaps by pulling this together into an A4 sized hardback, but the information is there either way – it’s just that there’s probably a better way to present it.

I’m a huge Beatles fan, which made it a lot of fun for me to read, but I did have to dip in and out of it to try to keep my morale up, so I could make it to the end. This book isn’t necessarily for everyone, but if you do decide to go for it then it isn’t impossible to make it to the end – trust me, I’ve tried.

I also like the fact that Jeff Russell, the book’s author, is a Liverpudlian, and that he’s dedicated a large part of his life to The Beatles. You can really tell, because his enthusiasm comes across – it’s just that it’s a bit like the enthusiasm of a rabid train spotter who wants to tell you all about his hobby. It’s almost overenthusiastic, which you can’t necessarily complain about, but it can be almost overwhelming.

Still, if you’re a Beatles fan and you’re thinking about getting this, or if you know a Beatles fan and you’re thinking about getting it for them, there’s a lot worse that you could do. I’d recommend checking this out – why the hell not?