Review: TRESE Series

Note: This is a repost from my old blog, albeit with some minor revisions. You may click on the photo to view the original review.

My rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Admittedly, my taste in literature is not very nationalistic. I seldom read Pinoy books. Not even the ubiquitous Bob Ong has managed to capture my fancy.

In a rare bout of patriotism, I wandered into the Filipino literature section of National Bookstore a few months ago while looking for something to read. I was determined to find a Pinoy book that I would enjoy, given my predilection for foreign authors. I found TRESE: Murder at Balete Drive. It was the teaser at the back cover that got me:

When the sun sets in the city of Manila, don’t you dare make a wrong turn and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro, where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where kapre are the kingpins of crime, and engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions.

I mean, come on. A kapre Mafia? WTF, right? That is something waaay out of the ordinary. That is weird. I like weird. Well, in plots and stories anyway.

And the book did not disappoint.

There are four cases in the first book, Murder at Balete Drive. And after reading the first one, I was already thoroughly impressed. It gave new life to an old tale, and added a few well-placed twists besides to form one hell of an opening tale to the world of Alexandra Trese. The other three stories were good too, but that first tale was what really captured my heart and made me an instant fan of Budjette and KaJo.

The first book just whetted my appetite for more of Trese and company, especially the mysterious Kambal. What manner of creatures were they that even fearsomeaswang hesitated to attack them? Where did all of them come from? And who is Alexandra Trese anyway? I was dying to find out if my questions would be answered in the following two books.

It is a measure of my respect to the authors that though readily accessible on the Internet, I did not read any synopsis or description of characters or any other sort of material that would spoil my reading experience and take away the element of surprise and discovery in reading the next books. I read all of the three books literally from cover to cover.

The way the book was written reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s work in the Sandman series and the novel American Gods. That is, how old tales and characters were revived and given a fresh, and definitely edgy, perspective. And in a pleasant surprise, Budjette affirmed my thought with a note at the end of the third book saying that those very works indeed were a heavy influence in the formation of the books. Or something to that effect anyway, but the amazing thing was my comparison was spot-on.

That is not to say however that Trese is a mere imitation of Gaiman’s work, because it most definitely is NOT. Budjette and KaJo definitely hold their own against other popular foreign authors with Trese. It is distinctively Pinoy, from the settings and locations in Manila to the tikbalang and Nuno sa Manhole (yes, in a friggin’ MANHOLE–this really cracked me up). The plots are awesome. And the stark way the graphics are drawn perfectly suits the overall mood of the series.

But I would have to say that my absolute favorite of the three books is the third. I love how the complex relations in the previous books are unravelled, and with such style to boot. I love how Alexandra’s journey to becoming who she is [now] was laid out, with plenty of action and twists to satisfy even a hardened cynic like me. And I totally love the intertwining story of how and where the mysterious Kambal came from. I finally learned what sort of hybrid creatures they are, and just love that bit of creative thinking the author came up with.

All in all, Trese is one gem of a series totally worth your money and time, and then finally, your respect and appreciation for Filipino talent. Kudos to Budjette and KaJo.