Title:  Red River Vol 22

Author:  Chie Shinohara

Publisher: Viz

ISBN:  9781421517223

May Contain Spoilers

Argh! My PC is suffering from a mysterious illness.  Go out of town for two days, and come home to the news that it’s "messed up."  Hmmmm.  My lappy seems to have it’s connectivity issues fixed, but the PC will take a bit of work to get working again.  Admin passwords are going to become my best friends after I get it back.  Anyhoo….

Yuri is determined to save Ramses, ignoring the fact that he’s a bitter enemy of the Hittites.  Stirring up a domestic unrest, she thinks that Nefertiti will release the general when the rebels come knocking on her door.  Wrongo!  Nefertiti isn’t willing to release her prey - in fact, Yuri’s bold moves have only encouraged the mean old queen to get rid of her rival - permanently!

It ain’t easy being queen.  Nefertiti is willing to sacrifice  everything to keep her grasp on her power, turning her back on her people and conspiring with the enemy to solidify her position.  Ramses picked the wrong person to make an enemy, so it’s a good thing that Yuri is willing to assist him.  Wonder how Kail’s going to feel about that - their countries are at war, after all.  And Ramses stole her away!  The entire Egyptian story arc has been an enjoyable journey, as history is woven into a fun romp with the plucky Yuri maturing and retaining her idealistic view of  the world. 

I did find the reunion with Aslan totally ridiculous.  While my horse is occasionally interested to see if I have a peppermint, she is never thrilled at the prospect of having to work, so she is less than enthusiastic when I arrive at the barn. She would never gallop about town in search of me.  I guess everything is better in manga.  Even the horses.

Grade: B+

Rated for Older Teen

Review copy provided by Viz