Title: The Lord of the Sands of Time
Author: Issui Ogawa
Translation: Jim Hubbert
Publisher: Viz – Haikasoru
ISBN: 9781421527628
May Contain Spoilers
Messenger O is a cyborg battling to save humanity. Traveling endlessly through time, he tries to defeat aliens that are always one step ahead of him. From the far future to the distant past, he never gives up hope that he will ultimately be victorious. In ancient Japan, he finally makes his final confrontation. Will his centuries of warfare end in victory or in the utter annihilation of every last human on the planet?
This is the first entry in Viz’s Haikasoru line, and I have to say that I found it very enjoyable. The writing lacked descriptive detail, but the plot was tense and exciting. Orville is an AI from the future, who is sent back in time to prevent the destruction of Earth. His is a lonely battle, as he is forced to leave behind the woman he loves. Worse yet, he can never be reunited with her, because every time he jumps through time, he changes the future. The chances of ever meeting her again are billions to one, yet he never gives up hope or loses his drive to defeat the enemy attacking mankind. He cherishes his memories of Sayaka, holding them in his mind like precious gems, doing everything in his power to save at least one time stream from the alien invasion.
I have to admit that the all of the time traveling and its consequences confused me, as Orville and fellow cyborgs leapt from time stream to time stream in an effort to rally the current population and help them defeat the ET force that has wiped out the Earth in his own time far in the future. Most of the book focuses on Orville’s battles in ancient Japan, where he has convinced Miyo, the acting shaman queen, of the urgency of his mission. She sees first hand the danger the ET represent, and she immediately agrees to help him. Together, they try to convince the surrounding kingdoms to join with them to defeat the invaders.
Much of the suspense is derived from the technological inequalities between the humans and the aliens. By jumping through time, Orville introduces inventions centuries early in an effort to win the war against the ET. However, the alien monsters always seem to be one or two steps ahead of him. They evolve and develop devastating weapons that Orville’s forces are helpless to defend against. It made for some very tense moments, as the survival of mankind looked pretty bleak. For about the last 100 pages, I could not put the book down. The action was gripping and exciting, and I had to find out what happened next. It didn’t even matter that I had to get up for work the next morning!
Despite some confusion over the time streams, the book is very compelling. Miyo grows from dissatisfied young girl into self-confident leader through all of her trials and battles with the enemy, who were sometimes her own advisors. Her attendant Kan also transforms into a brave young warrior, his only thought to protect his beloved queen from danger. Orville manages to maintain his sense of duty in the face of all of his defeats, and he never gives up hope. It would be a betrayal to Sayaka if he allowed mankind to die, so he ferociously defends them against the aliens, even when they resist his help.
I enjoyed my first foray into the Haikasoru line, and am looking forward to reading more titles. The Lords of the Sands of Time offered up a gripping story in less than 200 pages, and it zipped along at a good clip. I think the $13.99 price tag is a little steep, but the book has solid production values in a slightly oversized format.
Grade: B
Review copy provided by Haikasoru
August 13, 2009 at 8:17 pm
This sounds nice, and after the incredibly pleasant experience I’ve just had with All You Need is Kill, I’m certainly interested in seeing more of the Haikasoru line. I’ll be giving this one a try.