The second book/season of Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station has drawn to a close, even if that close is the literary equivalent of shoving the reader out a plane and then just sort of leaving them to fall endlessly (or at least until season 3 comes out). Emma and Miyako have been through a lot this season, and are still keeping some huge secrets from each other. Worse, the line between enemy and ally has become blurred as invader and criminal, military and civilian have all been muddled and obfuscated. The detectives are left having to rely on their best judgment, with only the information they’ve managed to gather on their to help guide them. In such a situation, they might find that even their own actions seem out of control. As partners, they’re supposed to be able to rely on each other, but with the city falling to pieces around them, do they have even that any longer? To the reviews!
As the second season draws toward the finale, things in Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station are really heating up. Emma and Miyako are both compromised in some profound ways, but that’s not going to stop them and might not even slow them down as they investigate murders in a Tokyo cracked by invasion and occupation. They have to balance the things they’ve betrayed, the people they stand to hurt, and the people they are determined to protect as they navigated the weaving lines of nationalism, corruption, and opportunity around them. And as the half-way point recedes, the season finale starts to loom, with the promise of something Big lurking closer. To the reviews!
Season two has already brought a delicate status quo to Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station, and there’s no signs that it’s slowing down yet, with plenty more explosive revelations--and grisly murders--in the latest two chapters. The project continues to blend mystery, crime drama, political thriller, and science fiction all into one pulse pounding package, and I really couldn’t be happier. The fictional Tokyo that the series conjures into being, though, might have a few choice words about the situation, though, as it continues to be pulled between the Chinese and American forces occupying it, all while the various Japanese elements seek to profit, or just survive, amidst the turmoil. Let’s get to the reviews!
So now that the second season is well under way, what surprises lurk in the latest two episodes/chapters of Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station? Well, there’s certainly murder aplenty, with the political situation in the city deteriorating as anti-Chinese sentiment clashes with Chinese resource superiority and propaganda. It’s driving a wedge into the heart of the city, setting neighbor against neighbor, and maybe even partner against partner. And after an extremely intense third episode, the fourth slows things down again with a trip to the countryside and a remote resort where Emma and Miyako have to wait out a storm...with a killer. I love this series for the mashup of mystery and science fiction, political thriller and buddy drama. To the reviews!
Ninth Step Station is back! I was incredibly excited about the announcement and especially after some of the other series I’ve really liked seem in limbo at the moment, it’s an added relief to be able to visit once more with Miyako and Emma as they deal with the realities of a Tokyo literally cut in half by Chinese and American occupying forces. The previous season left things in a rather tense way, with a series of assassinations culminating in some open fighting in the city. That’s died back, albeit with some concessions from the Japanese/American side, and as the new season gets under way it’s far from business as usual, except that there is a murder, or really a multiple murder, to solve. To the reviews!
Season one of Serial Box’s thrilling Ninth Step Station comes to a close with its first two-part episode, bringing together basically all of the unresolved elements from the series so far and setting the characters on a collision course with disaster and war. The episodes today stick with the murder mystery premise, but the solutions to these whodunnits aren’t really...straightforward. Instead, they are labyrinths that, if Emma and Miyako aren’t careful, they might get lost in. There’s a lot up in the air as the episodes progress, and the stakes skyrocket when assassinations, military aggression, and systemic corruption make honest police work impossible. And it’s a gripping payoff for readers of the season so far, though also something of a cliffhanger and a reason to very much hope there is a season 2.
Things are certainly heating up in the latest episodes from Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station, with plenty of murder, yes, but also a widening scope and political scene, with politicians and terrorists both making life much harder for Miyako and Emma. There’s some further exploration of each characters romantic lives, as well as plenty of office politics to go along with the global politics they’re trying to keep from exploding back into war. And the series continues to hit its television-like feel, with one “Emma episode” and one “Miyako episode” that give a little each character the chance to grow and be challenged. So let’s get to the reviews!
I’m looking at another pair of episodes from Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station. The whole look and feel of Serial Box mirrors television, with projects coming out in seasons and taking on tropes and genres that feel TV-ish, but in a way that television might not be able to really pull off. Which is something of a shame because I would watch the hell out of this show. Still, coming in fiction form is just as good, and I love how each episode comes alive a little different for each of the serial’s authors. Today marks the halfway point in the first season, and so it’s rather apt that the focus (while still featuring individual mysteries) grows a bit broader to look at the setting and just where Emma and Miyako might be headed now that they’ve come to a better place as partners. They’re beginning to trust each other at lost last. Which means it’s time to throw a wrench (or a few Chinese detectives) into the works at see how it plays out. To the reviews!
Good news, everyone! Ninth Step Station is available now from Serial Box! So for this exciting release day I’m looking at two more episodes of the sci fi mystery series (be sure to check out my reviews of the first two episodes here). The series mixes near-future political science fiction with police procedural-style mysteries and it’s just a lot of fun. After a strong (if rocky) start to their relationship…well, Miyako and Emma are still definitely trying to figure out how to work together. But split allegiances and outright lies aren’t really helping things. Throw in some invisible men and serial killers and this represents a very tense pair of episodes. And before I can give to much away, let's get to the reviews!
