| | |  | VIZ MEDIA | Home » » » The Land of Sand (Fullmetal Alchemist Novel, Volume 1) | | | | | | | Description: | | Full Metal Alchemist: The Land of Sand is an episode in the adventures of two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric who practice the art of alchemy. Edward works as a State Alchemist but his true goal is to return his younger brother Alphonse to his true form ever since an accident during an alchemical experiment took his body leaving Al as a soul inhabiting a suit of alchemical "automail." Ed and Al travel to the town of Xenotime once a rich gold mining community following a lead on researchers developing a Philospher s Stone the legendary alchemical artifact that can work wonders and possibly even restore Al s body. Author: Hiromu Arakawa Makoto Inoue | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Makoto Inoue | | Paperback:
| 221 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| October 04, 2005 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1421501554 | | Product Length:
| 7.6 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.08 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.71 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.56 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.7 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.7 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 7 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 7 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Great bookOct 09, 2007
By TexMex
This book was for my 12 year old daughter... she is a HUGE fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, and has all of the manga comics of the series. This book was a good addition to her collection. She loved it so much that she now is asking for the next book on this series... gotta' find it!!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 You've got to like the series to stand reading this bookJun 26, 2007
By Mary Ann Sherry
"writers block"
Alright, this book isn't exactly going to end up on any best sellers lists. As a writer I had to really stop myself from pulling out my red pen and giving it a thorough going over. Basically, it wasn't very well written and read like a synopsis of one of the anime episodes. This could have to do with the fact that it's a translation. Having read translations of other books from French and Spanish I know that they never read as well in English as they do in the original language. Of course, I don't read Japanese so I can't really vouche for the original.
On the other hand, it was enjoyable just becuase I'm a big fan of the anime and manga series. I felt rather silly reading it, since it felt juvenile to me. But I read it and... liked it, I guess. Well, it wasn't that bad. If you're a fanatic and not an English major, read the book.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Not a Bad Addition for the Fullmetal SeriesMar 15, 2006
By Jessica Y. Do
After having read this story and seen the anime episode it was based on, I'd say that the story is at *least* five times more interesting than the anime version.
Also, the story of "Warehouse 13" is even funnier than the anime episode, what with the additional ghost story mentioned and the consequences afterwards. You just have to read it to believe it!
6 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Full Metal ReviewJan 13, 2006
When two boys commit the ultimate sin of a human transmutation they search the country to find an ancient relic called the `Philosopher's Stone.' They reach an gold mine town called Xenotime. Will this be the place they finally find the stone? Edward and Alphonse reach this old town and decide to visit. While in the tavern they learn that a person named Mr. Mugear is attempting to make the `Philosopher's Stone' with the help of famous alchemists. When the town learns that the newcomers claim to be the famous Elric Brothers they tell them that the Elric brothers are already at the lab. Edward and Alphonse then decide to sneak into the mansion where Mugear does his research. When they reach the mansion they find the fake Elric Brothers, Russell and Fletcher. They meet again later inside the mansion and fight until they get tired. Mr. Mugear finds out about the real Elric brothers and puts the fake ones in the dungeon. Mugear then asks for Edward and Alphonse to help him in creating the stone. Edward asks Mugear where Russell and his brother are at and they free Russell and Fletcher. Mugear than finds what has happened and uses a trial stone to make a cannon and kill Edward. Russell then comes by and decides to help. With their alchemical power they beat Mugear and tell the town of his deception of just trying to get money for himself. After saying their farewells and goodbyes Edward and Alphonse leave for the next destination with hopes that they will find the true `Philosopher's Stone.' I recommend this book to anyone who likes the anime and Manga, Full Metal Alchemist. I also recommend this to anyone who likes a good action book.
I like the way that almost all the characters have their own personality. Edward hates being called short but yet he can use alchemy without a transmutation circle. Russell always behaves cool no matter the situation and does not like discussing his age but he also can do alchemy without a circle because of his trial stone. Alphonse may be a soul encased in the body of armor but he is gentle and would not really resort to fighting unless it was necessary. Finally Fletcher is very shy and does not talk a lot. He can perform alchemy even though his father told him never to do it.
I like the way that all the characters have a problem that they must face. Edward and Alphonse must find the `Philosopher's Stone' in order to get their bodies back to normal. Russell and Fletcher want to finish their dad's dream of making a `Philosopher's Stone.' The townspeople are also struggling to continue their work as goldsmiths.
Russell and Fletcher are two brothers who impersonated the real Elric Brothers and they had a mysterious past. They had a dad named Nash Tringam who was skilled at alchemy and was born in Xenotime. He was also working for Mugear but he eventually died. Before he died though he knew that Fletcher and Russell wanted to become alchemists but he told them to give up that dream. After the two brothers were in the lab they continued the work of their father but by doing that they had broken their promise to never use alchemy.
This is by far one of the best books I had ever read that's why I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Full Metal Alchemist. I also recommend it to the people who like a good action book.
J. Trejo
 It may have been mistakenMay 31, 2011
By kim
The novel was in very great condition, except that excuse me if i may sound rude, but i don't think the picture for this item should be the manga, because it completely mistaked me for the book shown and not the book i got in the mail. i read the bold writing, and was certain it was not the book i ordered. I may have been the one being mistaken but i still was not satisfied when i did not get the book i was expecting.
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