goodMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one gets a bit of a mixed review from me. In the last volume, young Arthur Conan Doyle saw that Sebastian was really Jeremy (who is a very obvious homage to Jeremy Brett who is to my mind the best actor to ever portray Sherlock Holmes) and that he was obviously not dead. The first seventy-five pages (two chapters) details how Sebastian pulled everything off and why. Frankly it was one chapter too long. Some things needed wrapping up but it went on a tad too long and my attention drifted.
Chapter fifty introduces a surprising new footman for Ciel but that’s all I want to say on that subject so not to ruin it for others. It also lets the others in on the fact Sebastian isn’t dead. The last two chapters move much faster and introduce a couple new characters (or at least ones I don’t remember so it’s been a while if they aren’t new). Lau arrives with news of about the Aurora Society who claims to be able to resurrect the dead. Following on his heels is Elizabeth with the news that her whole family is going on a three week cruise and she wants Ciel to come.
Naturally he doesn’t want to until he learns that the Aurora Society is on board so Ciel with Sebastian and the new footman (leaving the rest of the staff along with Soma and Agni behind), joins Elizabeth much to her delight. Infiltrating the society was simpler than one would have imagined and there is plenty of yaoi fan service in this chapter. And it is creepy with a Frankensteinesque creature about to devour them as the cliffhanger.
The art is simply gorgeous as always. I get the feeling I should know the cute newcomer with the glasses but I can’t place him yet. I do love that Toboso has obviously done a lot of research. There is a distinctive nod to Galvanic science (and there were scientific demos at the time trying to bring corpses to life which led to the invention of the crash cart and its heart stimulating electric paddles). The name of the hospital is also a nod to another horror story of this era. Looking forward to volume twelve.
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