Rate this book

ICO-霧の城 (2008)

by Miyuki Miyabe(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

4061825585 (ISBN13: 9784061825581)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Kōdansha

review 1: The world in which this novel is written is grand and intricate compared to the (unforgettable) video game on which it was based. It far accedes the plot of the game, if there really even was one, so much so that it honestly can become unbearably dreary at times.In this novel we are introduced to many new characters inside and outside of the Castle In The Mist, and even towns not mentioned in the game. This starts out wonderfully with the first (of only four) long chapter(s). We learn of the world and town our protagonist inhabits. The story builds nicely as it brings us to the Castle. Many parts of the book are, when it comes right down to it, more or less descriptions of what you see while playing the actual game. This can seem a bit tedious at times; describing the envi... moreronment in ways that you would need only know if you yourself had to interact with them. For the most part these unnecessarily descriptive segments are far and few between compared to the vast amount of imaginative story telling outside the realm of the game itself. In fact there are even a few changes made to things that are in the game, and further information is created on certain enigmas found in the game.For a large part of the book we find ourselves learning plenty of history on everything the author has created herself, and on Yorda. It is almost a book within a book. This had its ups and downs, but I feel went on for too long.What I began to realized before beginning the last chapter was that the thing preventing me from enjoying the book like I really wanted to was my inability to relate to any of the characters. I could admire Ico, but he only occupies so much of the book. Without feeling any bond to the characters, this stories only hope is character relationships with each other, and of course conflict and tragedy. All in all I feel the book was good; the story was good, but was over loaded with drags that didn't have quite enough emotional draw-in to make up for it.
review 2: I read this book a fair few years ago, but I've been thinking about it recently.Ico for the PlayStation 2 is one of my favourite games. Although I've only played it once it has a way of lingering in your memory with it's hauntingly beautiful atmosphere.One of my favourite things about it and it's spiritual predecessor Shadow of the Colossus is their vagueness. Almost everything in these games are left to the individual players interpretation. Therefore this was a challenging read as it portrayed the authors take on the story, some of which I agreed with and some I absolutely didn't.However it was fascinating to see how someone else saw things and the author produced an idea that I had never considered before, but have now accepted it into my theory. Still, I loved the opportunity to return to this world and its characters. Some of the magic has been drained, for example the main characters Ico and Yorda can now speak "English" whereas before we had to study their body language and actions to judge their feelings.I would still recommend this to fans of Fumito Ueda's masterworks.( Oh and I loved the cover art by Ueda himself, based on one of his favourite artists, Giorgio de Chirico ) less

Download links for: ICO-霧の城

Advertising