This unassuming little volume with unadorned text and economical storytelling is deceptively light reading. Kino's story is told at a distance, and we are just as much a visitor as she. And that distance is necessary to keep this story from overwhelming the reader, because Kino visits some pretty horrific places. The volume is a triumph of both imagination and execution, and the distance that the author keeps allows exploration of darker themes to be thought provoking rather than emotionally wrenching. It's really a smart story, and I look forward to spending more time with Kino in her sequels. ( )

Una novela ligera sobre una loli que monta una motocicleta parlanchina y es experta pistolera. Suena a que no da más de cliché, ¿verdad?

Error.

Kino no Tabi es una alegoría sobre la sociedad. En sus viajes, la protagonista visita distintos pueblos, muy diferentes entre sí, dedicando exactamente tres días a cada uno. En uno de estos sitios, solo se ven robots en las calles, en otro no hay más que un gigantesco cementerio con miles de tumbas olvidadas; más allá se celebran peleas a muerte para conseguir la ciudadanía. Un escena más extraña que la otra. Ni que hablar de los personajes con que se encuentra la protagonista. Pero en todos los capítulos hay una crítica mordaz: a la tecnología, a la burocracia, a la carrera armamentística, al abuso de poder...
Todo siempre en el tono simple y directo de las novelas ligeras, de ágil lectura para cualquier interesado. Yo en particular la he disfrutado mucho, y me ha dado una nueva perspectiva sobre este tipo de publicaciones. ( )

I loved it! ( )

I wasn't really too crazy about this story. It's what's known as a "light novel". It's a series of stories about a young woman Kino who travels on her talking motorcycle Hermes. They both visit odd cities in which the residents do away with each other in odd ways. I didn't find any redeeming features to these stories. In the end, not much happened so I couldn't see the point of it all. For manga, I'd rather read the graphic novel type of story. I think I'll stick to those in the future. ( )

Interesting collection of stories. Some things are lost in the English version, for example, the main character's gender isn't apparent until much later, something that isn't easy to achieve in english. I have to mention, though, that the physical book is beautifully designed. It's probably my favorite that I own. ( )