The story is about two middle aged friends who live in a crime infested city filled with abnormal humans, some of which are very powerful. Not shounen type powerful, but very strong / hard to kill. The focus is on the two main characters who do odd jobs for the local mafia type gangs, from bodyguards, to delivering packages. Early they meet a prostitute doing tricks on the street for her pimp and they bring her in as a secretary.
There aren't time warps or ancient dragons, its just raw ghetto style depravity all around them. It sets an incredibly bleak tone which just ramps all they way up the more your read. There's a bit of politics, a bit of action, a bit of SoL, a bit of almost everything, but there's alot of raw intensity and suspense that tries to strangle you after every page you turn. It's so suffocating, that it's masterful.
The art is bleak, with hard lines and minimal background, but it works incredibly well with the story. It flows so well that thinking back, its like i was watching an anime or movie.
The characters are very interesting and deep, with background stories that get told often but quickly and succinctly, and they're told in clever ways so that it doesn't feel forced out of nowhere. It's just like the right time for you to learn about certain things.
And that leads me to the pace, probably the best I've ever seen for what the story is. I don't see how it could be done better. It's like a perfect ramp that at chapter 34 continues to peak steadily.
And finally, if you looked at my individual scores, you'll see I rated the enjoyment at a 3. B/c i didn't enjoy this at all, i thought i was going to have a heart attack. It's so bleak, brutal and unflinching in its cruelty and realism, its extreme in its believability. There isn't much suspension of disbelief here, it catches you quickly and you believe it, which is why it has an incredible impact, a disturbing impact. Obviously some people are going to love this, but the cup is just too heavy to lift to my lips.
I strongly recommend it if you are into hardcore mafia type stories. But let me leave off with saying that, this isn't gore porn or death smut and i cringe away from it b/c its extreme in the content, i had to put it away because of the setting and mood it creates. It's just so heavy and haunting, i'm sure i'll be back, but not for quite awhile, probably until i hear it ends. And I'm sure i'll be dreading reading the conclusion.
