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Just from glancing at the first pages of THE STRANGER: Last Man, the reader is immediately thrown into an exotic, fantastical world. Its art style is inspired by Japanese manga and starts with young boys fighting in a ring, combining beauty and brutality for a unique and interesting mix.

The book focuses on Adrian Velba, a twelve year old boy training with the older kids at Master Jansen's Gladiatorial School to compete at the village's annual Tournament. But right before the Tournament, Adrian's partner falls ill, forcing Adrian to become teammates with Richard Aldana, a mysterious, brutish man who rolls into town to win the Tournament's prize money. He struggles to teach Adrian how to overcome his unimpressive size to defeat the other teams, while also trying to figure out the semi-magical rules of the Tournament before he is eliminated by not following procedure.

"Sprinkle in some magic and a determined little underdog and anyone can find something to love."

The main character being a twelve year old boy seems to imply that that is the targeted audience, but THE STRANGER has a pure sense of entertainment that accommodates all audiences: the idea of a sort of tournament as the central plot is seen in everything from The Hunger Games to The Karate Kid. Sprinkle in some magic and a determined little underdog and anyone can find something to love.

But there is a major piece lacking in this book that sheer entertainment cannot make up for: explanation. Right away the reader can tell that the rules of this town are not the same as the real world, but the how is never indicated. This should have been easily fixed with the arrival of Richard Aldana, since he is as clueless as the reader. That's how main characters left in the dark are most beneficial in stories --- the world they stumble into is explained to the reader at the same time as it's explained to them.

But Aldana isn't given any real information --- he's given names and vague, one-word rules, but that doesn't help him and it doesn't help the reader. We're given just enough information to know that there are specific and formal procedures, but we don't know what they are. And with that, we're supposed to know that Aldana turns these rules on their head with his brute force, but the impact of that information is softened because we don't know what the rules were before he arrived.

It's obvious the way the other characters act that the authors have this entire world intricately detailed, but it's usually the job of the first book in a series to explain this new world to the audience so they can continue the series with the basic, necessary information. They will either need to take time out of the action in later books to explain the principles of this world or leave their readers puzzling through the rules until the series is over.

This is more infuriating because everything else is so developed and easy to get lost in. Every character has a distinctive look. Adrian is about half the size of everyone else and always has his eyes and mouth opened wide to take everything in. Aldana is a hulking, grim figure who looks both beastly and calculating, so the reader trusts and questions him simultaneously. The competitors are easily distinguished as evil, resembling demonic clowns with either painted faces or huge lips and leering smiles. The dialogue can become exaggerated and a little corny at times, like when Aldana runs around desperately searching for cigarettes or when Adrian's teacher professes his love in a manic passion to Adrian's mother, but the voices are distinctive and unique so the reader can become acquainted with them easily and immediately.

Maybe as the series goes on the world will explain itself, but as a book by itself its lack of answers is distracting. Then again, for anyone looking for an entertaining book with a vibrant cast and unique outlook on fantasy, this book is an excellent start, and builds the promise that the entire series will follow.

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