ICO: Castle in the Mist

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$8.49

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ICO: Castle in the Mist (eBook) Pub. Date: 10/18/2011 Publisher: VIZ Media
$7.86

$12.22

Paperback

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ICO: Castle in the Mist Pub. Date: 8/16/2011 Publisher: VIZ Media LLC

$40.10

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Ico: Kiri No Shiro 1 of 2 Pub. Date: 11/28/2010 Publisher: Kodansha America/Tsai Fong Books

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Overview

Reads L to R (Western Style), for audience A.

When a boy named Ico grows long curved horns overnight, his fate has been sealed-he is to be sacrificed in the Castle in the Mist. But in the castle, Ico meets a young girl named Yorda imprisoned in its halls. Alone they will die, but together Ico and Yorda might just be able to defy their destinies and escape the magic of the castle.

Based on the video game filmmaker Guillemo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) called a "masterpiece", Japan's leading fantasist Miyuki Miyabe has crafted a tale of magic, loss, and love that will never be forgotten.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781421540634
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Publication date: 8/16/2011
Pages: 400
Sales rank: 190,782
Series: ICO: Castle of the Mist Series
Product dimensions: 5.10 (w) x 8.02 (h) x 1.02 (d)

Meet the Author

Miyuki Miyabe's first novel was published in 1987, and since that time she has become one of Japan's most popular and best-selling authors. Miyabe's 2007 novel "Brave Story" won The Batchelder Award for best chldren's book in translation from the American Library Association. "ICO: Castle in the Mist" is her seventh novel to be translated in English.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5

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LeslieGS

Posted March 18, 2012

Every generation a Sacrifice is born, a child with horns on his

Every generation a Sacrifice is born, a child with horns on his or her head. The child is then taken from the parents and sent to a small village to be raised and eventually sent to the Castle in the Mist. That would usually be the end of it, but this time, the Book of Light has been found again. The Mark is even stronger; the connection is deeper. This time, this Sacrifice, will be the last. And he may even come home.

Ico is a book based on a PS2 game that I have neither seen nor played. And while reading, I hardly remembered that the game ever existed. The book is enthralling, as with Book of Heroes and Brave Story, full of details and description. Normally here I would add "without being overwhelming," but I really cannot this time around. Because of the topics, content and ideas she has taken on, Miyabe's books can become overwhelming in parts. Not from simple description of simple things, but from adapting to the ideas of lizard men, new worlds, mystical powers that make so much sense [once grasped]. Though in a world very like ours and containing no lizard men [that was Brave Story], Ico [book, not titular character] has mystical powers. Blinding lights, shadow creatures, ghosts, witches and more all in a castle that apparently generates its own mist are part of this story. All are interwoven by a hand made for details. It is a well-crafted story, to be sure. Just a very dense one, with no fluff in sight.

Arguably, the most difficult thing for me to cope with is the series of visions that unfold throughout the main story, revealing and explaining the back story of the curse, the castle and the creatures therein. There are times when they are announced, but for the most part, the story slides seamlessly into the vision and back out, not bothering to clarify until Ico himself realizes what was going on. Sometimes he is prepared. Sometimes he walks into them. And the narrator, being firmly on Ico's shoulder for over half of the novel [it does switch to Yorda, the girl he meets and decides to rescue for the rest], is only kind enough to flow with the boy's observations.

I wondered, admittedly because my brain is still plagued with many stereotypes, whether or not I was to anticipate this being a YA book. I will tell you, firmly, it is not. Well, YA, yes. Nothing younger. The content was technically never gory, but there was a decent amount of death floating around with the descriptions pouring the visuals into your brain. The song Strange Fruit came to mind in one scene for me. Yes, a well-adjusted and strong-minded young reader might take to this easily, but they're the exceptions, right?

I'll say right.

But the text, like the cover, is beautiful. Not one I'll reread a lot, but one I'll lend out happily.
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Anonymous

Posted November 2, 2011

Could have been better

The book starts off great I really enjoyed it great author. But as you get to the castle in the mist the reading becomes a bit of a bore. I stopped about half way because it just felt like reading someones account of watching the video game being played. I haven't played the game and the author even makes the point that it doesn't follow the game. If that's true why do I feel like I'm reading a video game?
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Anonymous

Posted December 28, 2011

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Anonymous

Posted January 14, 2012

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