Customer Reviews

Dark Walker (Yaoi novel)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't waste your money on this book; there are dozens of other excellent yaoi novels that are far superior. The premise is good; a young man can enter the world of dreams and affect changes through magic. The pairing is sweet but there were too many "déjà vues." I kept thinking of Soubi and Ritsuka in "Loveless" every time I read the actions of the older student, Yuuga Oda toward the hero, Tomoki Naruse. The syntax is poor, whether the result of translation or original work. Many paragraphs repeat sentences almost word for word, yet others leave out vital information needed to move the story along. Transitions from scenes were poor or non-existent. The love scenes were clichés and moved along too rapidly. Sorry, authors and translators, this one is a dud.

For a little explanation of what I got from the book, Dark Walkers are those people that are enter the Dream World bodily. They are subject to injury and death while in the Dream World.

I liked this novel for the cute story part of it. The romance between Tomoki and Yuuga was the cute part, though their initial get together kinda started off with a bit of non-con. Non-con because Tomoki didn't understand what was going on and Yuuga didn't wait for any kind of permission. There was also a part where one of the characters suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. Some people might not like this part because of the way the character is treated. You just kind of want to say "Wake up and stop being an idiot". It had sad parts as well though this is not what I would call a heart wrencher or one needing a box of tissues.

I loved this book, even though I failed to notice the word "novel" when I first ordered. It didn't affect me much when I saw that it was a novel, I read it and loved it anyway. I just hope they do/have a manga versio of this book, it'd be nteresting to see it that way

Very good Read if you are into dreams and what they can do for you you will like this book. lots of actions and so so love screns

I'm in love with this book. I bought it and I read the whole book in one sitting. Everything seemed perfect about it. The editing wasn't the best but I loved the plot and the love scenes. The pictures were beautiful and I can't believe there's not a sequel out. The ending made me tear up a bit. I just wish the novel was a bit longer.

I really enjoyed this yaoi novel, and though it is not my favorite, it's memorable and unique enough.

1) ART: the novel contains 11 black-and-white drawings and 1 color one, by one of my favorite artists, Hirotaka Kisaragi (the author of Innocent Bird Volume 1: (Yaoi) (v. 1)). The art is not as refined as in some of his new works, but some of the drawings were still quite pleasing to my eye. The uke does look "girly" (i.e., big eyes, slender figure and very cute) though, a warning to all those who dislike that type of depiction.

2) STORY: it's supposedly based on the original manga by Hirotaka Kisaragi, but unlike that manga, the author here (Hikaru Yura) transformed it into a yaoi novel (the manga had a girl instead of a uke, and was quite different in many other respects). This novel is a fairly well-developed fantasy yaoi, about people with unique ability to cross our reality into "dream world" / alternative realities. Some of the sections / world building were quite interesting to read, in particular, I became a "fan" of some inhabitants of that Dream World, a talking cat and a talking crow (most of other inhabitants are much less friendly demons...). One of the previous reviewers compared this world to the one in Loveless, but I don't think they're that similar. Fantasy novels with alternative realities / dream worlds are fairly common, and though nobody does it as well as Clive Barker (IMO), this novel was unique and enjoyable enough.

3) CHARACTERS / PAIRINGS: there are two pairings in this one: 1) A major one, with a seme being a neglected child in the past (now he's mostly strong and very sexy), and the uke weak and fragile, but all bubbly and kind. Both are high-school students, but also "dark walkers", who possess unique world- and reality-altering abilities. The uke comforts the seme, and the whole cute and bittersweet interaction reminded me of Little Butterfly: Omnibus Edition (Yaoi) pairing a bit. Very sweet and cute, but not over-done, and the seme can be somewhat rough, even demon-like, depending on the situation; 2) A secondary pairing, with non-con, very rough sex, a master-slave relationship, an exceedingly cruel half-demon seme and a uke falling in love despite all the cruel treatment (rape is not "glorified" in this book, though, not that I noticed). There are some really sad moments in the book, but it's not tragic overall, IMO, especially considering the hint in the author's afterword. (To all those saddened by anything in this story: do read the afterword! :)) Re: that afterword - the author mentioned they may do a sequel / spin-off, but as far as I can tell, there's none yet, not even in Japan... :( However, the story of the main pairing doesn't require one, so there are no cliffhangers or any major unresolved situations in this novel.

4) TRANSLATION AND EDITING: Translation is not the best I've seen from June, but adequate. Editing... well, there are some typos, spelling/grammar errors and the like. It didn't prevent me from enjoying this book, but somebody might think otherwise.

Overall grade for me: 4.5 stars, not a "full mark" due to editing issues. I will surely re-read this one, and it's a worthy addition to my yaoi novels collection.

Man, at first I was kinda iffy when I began to read this book but wow..it is pretty good..I felt so bad for Shiki and Kanon when they fell =( I liked both the sweet lovemaking and the dominant demon sex it draws you a good picture of these scenes and the artwork is okay in my eyes..if you haven't read this I suggest doing so it's worth the buy

I just read this novel and to tell the truth I loved it. Knowing you can fall asleep and still be active is great. Tomoki is a 15 year old student and so is his lover. The way Yuugo smiles at everyone makes him real popular with the girls but he is not interested in them. Yuugo has eyes only for Tomoki and Tomoki doesn't know why. He keeps asking if Tomoki remembers him but he doesn't because he keeps his eyes closed when he is in a dream state. He knows it is a man making love to him but who...

When Yuugo puts marks on his body only then does his memorey comes back slowly. I thought him getting to see his brother would mean they would be together but the writer had other ideas. This is a great read but short one. I didn't mind spending my hard earn money on it.

EDIT: I meant to rate this as a 4 star but I must have accidentally hit three because that is what is showing up and I am unable to change it by editing the review.

The back cover of this novel sums up the story quite nicely so I'm just going to repeat it here and add in my two cents worth after:

"Tomiki Naruse has the strangest dreams. Every night, he finds himself waiting for a phantom lover - whom he has never seen. Tomoki cannot remember his dream lover's name or face when he wakes each morning, but one thing he does know: Tomoki's lover is no girl.

Unraveling the mystery of Tomoki's dream lover leads him to discover the Depths of Dreams, a shadowy world hidden within the darkness, and the realization that he is one of the mythical Dark Walkers - a human born with the ability to "fall" from the real world into the Depths of Dreams with his mind and body intact. With the help of Yuugo Oda, his classmate and fellow Dark Walker, Tomoki begins to harness and control the power within him. Little do they realize the sinister plans set in motion by Tomoki's appearance in the world of dreams, discovering that, sometimes, fantasy can be just as terrifying as the real world."

Overall, I thought the plot was pretty good. There were some twists and turns along the way and the storyline is different from what we usually get although the two main characters are junior high students and some of the story centers around school. I felt the story really started to pick up more once the antagonist is introduced into the story but that isn't until almost two-thirds of the way in. The ending was fast paced and I think the author resolved the story nicely, if not a bit abruptly considering what the one character actually goes through.

As far as the actual structure of the book, we are given the pretty typical one color page and ten black and white illustrations; all of which are nicely done. The characters are attractive and stick to the somewhat typical seme/uke roles even with their looks. The author uses some pretty good imagery although once she seems to have given a detailed description of something, she tends to use it more than once with the exact wording, which is a little odd. Also, in the beginning whenever she refers to the mystery lover, she always puts "he" or "him" in quotes to the point of being a bit annoying. The translation was well done and there are only a handful of spelling errors or missing words, although I did notice them as I was reading. As far as the sexual content, there are a good amount of sex scenes but they are not graphically described as some novels have them. There are only two scenes that are rather graphic in their descriptions so if you like your sex scenes to be described in a more flowery way, you'll like this book. Overall, it was a good read. Not the best I've seen but not the worst. I would probably recommend renting it or borrowing from a friend before shelling out the money to see if you like it.

Character Design = B+ (cute but typical)
Plot = B+
Book Design/Illustrations = B+
Sexual Content = B (there but not very graphic)
Translation = B+ (enough missing/misspelled words to be noticeable but not overly distracting)

Overall Grade = B+

It was a speedy read, I finished it in about four hours. I'd only recommend it to new yaoi readers. If you're already a huge yaoi fan, I'm sure you've read and watched a lot of better things. It wasn't the worst I've ever read, but it's on that list. The story layout was pretty simple, and the story flow is often jumbled. It was sweet, but a pretty cliche. The lemon scenes left a great deal to be desired. The only reason I was satisfied with my purchase was because I got it for two dollars. I wouldn't have paid any more for it.

So basically, newer yaoi readers will love it, while those with more experience and exposure in the genre will find it stale. Great idea, but poorly executed. I wish it could have been better.