Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Gangsta Volume 2

This is a review of Gangsta Volume 2 by Kohske.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

This is the second volume in a series, reading this review will probably spoil the first volume.  If you wish to read my review of volume one you can find it here.

Nic and Worick are "The Handymen" they are the guys who clean up the messes left by gangs or do the dirty jobs that the police can't.  They are the neutral party that can clean up after or help any of the three gangs in the city of Ergastulum.  Ergastulum is not your average gang controlled city.  There are enhanced humans called "Twilights" who are generally bigger and stronger than everyone else.  The Twilights are part of a the city's dark past and a nasty prejudice still lingers in many people.

Nic & Worick just can't stay out of trouble.  A job request ends them in jail being questioned by the police.  Another job request pits them in a fight with another Twilight and this one is really tough.  This could be the roughest battle so far but the fight is interrupted and an intriguing new character enters the story.  While all of this is going on Alex is left at the office alone and something seems to be wrong with her.

I am still loving this series.  The dark past of the city is a looming mystery.  Nic & Worick's own past is still mostly secret.  The story leads the reader along from one crumb of knowledge to the next and fills all of the space in between with a nice combination of violence and humor.  The characters are diverse and each new character that joins the story makes it that much more interesting.

I highly recommend this series.  If you enjoyed Black Lagoon, Cowboy Bebop or Jorgmungand you will enjoy this.  If you like a story with rich complex characters and violence doesn't turn you off this is a great series.