Manga Review – Soulless The Manga: Book 3 by Gail Carriger and Rem (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Manga
Size: 208 pages
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: November 19, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0316182034
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Soulless: The Manga series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the third book in the Parasol Protectorate manga and was very well done. I enjoyed it a lot. This was one of my least favorite books of the full length book series, I actually thought it was better done in manga format. I haven’t been able to find any information about the fourth novel in this series.

Alexia is being scorned by everyone she knows because of her pregnancy. She journeys to the Templars in Italy in hopes of finding some answers both about the history of Preternaturals and about what kind of baby she might actually be carrying. However, she finds upon her arrival that the Templars have plans of their own. Meanwhile Lord Maccon is wallowing in a drunken state of misery and being generally troublesome.

This was a very fun installment in this Manga series. It starts with vicious exploding ladybugs for goodness sake, so how can you do wrong? There is a lot of action and adventure. Additionally Alexia learns a lot more about the significance and history of Preternaturals.

Alexia really shows her toughness in this installment, it’s a rough time for her. However, where a weaker woman might give in to despair…Alexia decides to hunt down answers on her own despite what everyone thinks about her.

As with the full length book series, I found Lord Maccon to be especially obnoxious in this installment. He does redeem himself in the end however. The characters that are the most fun in installment are Genevieve and Lyall. Genevieve is Alexia’s main companion for much of the novel and we learn a lot more about her. It was also fascinating to watch Lyall try to deal with Lord Maccon’s mess.

The illustration continues to be extremely well done. There is a lot of detail and facial expression are done really well. The illustrator does a wonderful job of distinguishing between characters, I was never confused about who was who.

The book ends on a wonderfully hopeful note and I can’t wait to read the next installment in this series.

Overall and incredibly well done installment in this manga version of the Parasol Protectorate series. The characters, story, and illustration are all very well done. I really hope to see a fourth book in this series and can’t wait to read it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge