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Seiji’s calm is badly rattled over a lost match and his mysterious past begins to come out.

28 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2018

48 people are currently reading
1522 people want to read

About the author

C.S. Pacat

71 books16.6k followers
C.S. Pacat is the USA-Today best-selling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence.

Born in Australia and educated at the University of Melbourne, C.S. Pacat has lived in a number of cities, including Tokyo and Perugia, and currently resides and writes in Melbourne.

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5 stars
1,055 (33%)
4 stars
1,442 (45%)
3 stars
587 (18%)
2 stars
70 (2%)
1 star
11 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews
Profile Image for Maryam Rz..
220 reviews3,488 followers
December 8, 2020
(4.5 ★’s)

“I always look at these old faces and think...how many of them achieved the dreams they had when they were at school?”

In this house we stan only one king and that is the adorable, manipulative playboy Aiden Kane fight me.


YES LET HIM. I absolutely support it because he’s not just a privileged rich kid, he’s also an observant, exploitative genius and that’s truly all I care about and no that’s not problematic and yes I thank Ms. Pacat from the depths of my haunted heart for showing us how utterly he slays in action—it was delightful.

Honestly, I’m surprised to be shelving an issue of this series as a fave, but this one was undoubtedly the best so far—and no, that has nothing to do with the fact that it focuses on Aiden the talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before hot rich guy I adore. Nope, whatever do you mean? 👀

But really, Aiden aside (but who can really put Aiden aside), this short addition to the series captured my heart for a myriad of reasons. Namely ⤵

There was so much depth I was afraid I’d fall into the abyss to my death. My heart soared and my eyes went all wide and glassy in the way you know is spelling desperate love. I just need to say that I, above all, appreciate the sage wisdom Pacat sprinkles on these cute little tales (of which this installment beautifully had the most) and also the addition of Coach Williams who is one of the only two women in this precious land of queer boys but oh is she a wonderful mentor and oh do I love it whenever she graces the stage and makes it shine.

“What others think doesn’t matter, Nicholas. When you fence, don’t think about the outcome of the match. Don’t think about winning. Winning is a distraction.”




With killer psychological games, the competition now finally became arresting and impossible to look away from! Before, the fencing matches were only a series of drawings where we were told who made what move and it lacked a certain narrative—of course, a few of them did have that narrative, but they generally missed the dynamic this genius exploration of the game’s psychology added; not to mention how none of the previous matches were as tense or as close as this issue’s.

With this one we really saw and felt how risky and ever-changing fencing is and weren’t just told about its fast pace. And I admit, I relished seeing a certain someone break and lose it. It felt good and I will forever worship Aiden for finding the crack in his foundation and trashing him.

“Winning is expected. It’s a distorted mindset, in which winning isn’t an accomplishment...but losing is failure. Losing is unthinkable.”


➽ As always: the applaudably masterful storytelling, timing humour in the midst of heartbreak, dramatic entrances and tension build-ups so well and entertainingly that I can comfortably sit back and enjoy the ride and not care about predictable plots—because c’mon, life is predictable, people are predictable, and no one can ever surprise me. But this?

Now this is the good stuff. *leans back and pops popcorn*


I just realised this is my longest review for this series yet. It really shows how much I loved it, doesn’t it? Oh well, I’m not even sorry.


Companions: Playlist & Related Reviews

Book series playlist: Spotify URL


Books in series:
Fence #1 ★★★✯☆
Fence #2 ★★★✯☆
Fence #3 ★★★★☆
Fence #4 ★★★✯☆
↬ Fence #5 ★★★★✯
Fence #6 ★★★★✯
Fence #7 ★★★★✯
Fence #8 ★★★★✯
Fence #9 ★★★★✯
Fence #10 ★★★★★
Fence #11 ★★★★★
Fence #12 ★★★★☆
Fence, Vol. 1 (Fence, #1-4) ★★★★☆
Fence, Vol. 2 (Fence, #5-8) ★★★★✯
Fence, Vol. 3 (Fence, #9-12) ★★★★★
Fence, Vol. 4 (Fence, #13-16) ★★★★✯
Profile Image for Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora).
1,009 reviews43.8k followers
December 3, 2020
¡Ahhhh! ¡Me encantó este tomo! Siguen en las eliminatorias para ver quién hará parte del equipo, pero en esta ocasión alguien le demuestra a Seiji y al resto del instituto que no es invencible. ¡Soy muy fan de Aiden!
Profile Image for Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥.
651 reviews35.3k followers
September 18, 2018
YESH!!! =))
Looks like a certain someone got his ass handed to him! *lol*

I know we all love Nick and Seiji but I think Aiden and Bobby are the secret stars of the show! ;-P

”What did you say to Seiji?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”


Aiden is one hell of a manipulative witch and I love him for it! <333 He’s not just rich, good looking and an awesome fencer, but he also has the necessary mindset to unsettle his opponents while they are fencing. Well done, Aiden. Well done!
If we’ll ever find out what he said to Seiji?! *lol* I’m soo curious now!

I loved the conversation between Nicholas and his coach! He knows exactly how to take his students and that’s awesome! =)

The only thing I’m not enjoying about this comic is that it’s always so short!!!
I want more!!
Why can’t this be a little longer?! Please?! *makes huge puppy eyes*
Profile Image for Shin Mon Thway.
663 reviews1,702 followers
January 8, 2019
This issue more than made up for the shortcomings of the fourth one. I absolutely loved this one. 😍 Kept me on the edge all the time. Here we got a glimpse into the vulnerability of Seiji and what kind of inner demons he’s battling. 😌



”When you fence, don’t think about the outcome of the match.”

“Don’t think about winning. Winning is a distraction.”

“Think only about fencing. Think about the fencing well, in the way that you enjoy.”




What a valuable and precious teaching! 👏 The sacred bond and passing of wisdom between a teacher and a student. I really loved it. We also got more insight into the coach’s opinions.


I’m a bit confused about my feelings on Aiden though. I love his carefree playboy character but I hate that he plays dirty. He’s the kind of guy who would do anything as long as there’s winning in the end. Is he a villain or an anti-hero good guy? We have to watch and find out! 😉



4.5 winning is a distraction stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Profile Image for Aleksandra.
1,541 reviews
April 19, 2018
This was so good! fun and emotional and exciting!
Aiden is the star and I love him.
_____
mysterious past?!

mysterious past?!!

Mysterious past?!?!

I am so ready
Profile Image for Reading_ Tamishly.
5,302 reviews3,463 followers
October 20, 2020
Someone asks me 'um...when is the romance starting?'
I say 'forget about the damn romance!!!! The pressure is killing me!!!!'
Seiji, I will protect you. My heart 😭
Profile Image for Maria.
606 reviews143 followers
April 19, 2018
me: wow this is actually going good this time
bobby: *pops up out of nowhere*
me: ...nvm

this was meh. better than the previous issue but still a let down. everyone just seems so pathetic and annoying to me? I don’t have it in me to sympathize. glad that we now know that seiji is not a robot though. good for him.
Profile Image for nessa.
24 reviews10 followers
April 20, 2018
Aiden is a beautiful private school brat and that’s the tea.
Profile Image for rin.
420 reviews467 followers
April 17, 2018
AIDEN OBLITERATED SEIJI ALSO THIS WAS FUN I LOVE AIDEN THE BAD BITCH

~~~


soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo aiden and seiji are gonna face off and pacat teased it on instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BZugixUltCo/ and damn seiji might actually lose to him if you look at the summary ALSO MYSTERIOUS PAST WOOO BOI im excited
Profile Image for Anali.
594 reviews112 followers
May 17, 2018
Fence #5 tuvo un mejor ritmo que su volumen anterior. Tuvo un poco más de acción y, de alguna forma, conocimos un poco más de Nick y Seiji.

Por otro lado, el duelo entre Aiden y Seiji fue genial. En realidad, no siento simpatía por ninguno de los personajes aún, pero creo que Aiden hizo trampa. No merecía ganar.

Lo único malo es que los capítulos son demasiados cortos. Al menos deberían tener de 35 a 45 páginas como un manga común.
Profile Image for emma.
153 reviews623 followers
April 23, 2018
4.5 stars.

I LOVED how much character development Aiden and Seiji got in this one!!! Also Bobby is the softest boy and I will never not want to hug him okay
Profile Image for Bárbara.
1,210 reviews82 followers
April 19, 2018
It sure beat the fiasco that was the previous issue, but I'm still finding it hard to care for the characters or the story. Plus, I think whoever made the blurb for this issue should be fired... In a rocket into outer space. There was literally no relevant allusion to Seiji's mysterious past. WHAT. SO. EVER.
Also can Bobby just go already? The character literally adds nothing other than annoyance, and every intervention makes the pace of the issues all wrong.
I'm still having trouble reconciling with the fact that Pacat is responsible for this.
Profile Image for Meags.
2,481 reviews694 followers
May 9, 2018
3.5 Stars

In this fifth issue, Seiji and Aiden go head-to-head in a fencing match that does not go as expected.

We get a little glimpse into Seiji's secretive past and my disdain for sleazeball Aiden continues to grow exponentially - seriously, I hate that guy with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.
Profile Image for Tucker Almengor.
1,039 reviews1,664 followers
November 3, 2020
AND THE SAGA CONTINUESSS

I loved the most recent installment of Fence. This time we go into the theme of confidence.

Drama is happening. Seiji's calm is badly rattled by Aiden over a lost match and his mysterious past begins to come out.

This installment was humorous and intriguing as usual!

I can't wait to see where things go!

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Profile Image for Alexandra Elend Wolf.
650 reviews318 followers
May 6, 2019
3.5 stars.

"When you fence, don't think about the outcome of the match. Don't think about winning. Winning is a distraction. Think only about fencing. Think about fencing well, in the way that you enjoy."

I feel like each issue gives protagonism and relevance to a different character, at least in a way, and I like that.

The one thing I don't like about all these issues is that they are so short and some times it feels as if nothing is happening at all. They advance slowly but they are fun, so, well, I just don't mind that much.

I liked Aiden. He's cocky and full of himself but his not delusional or anything like that. I was laughing when the other guy, Jay, wanted Aiden to lose so badly and how into the match he got, and just his facial expressions alone were so funny. I get why he was mad at Aiden but the situation was largely his fault as well.

We start to get a bit more into Seiji and seeing that maybe he's not the perfect fencer... yet. That was interesting.

And a tiny bit of Nicholas' having a conversation with the coach. I like that coach, she's fierce and I think her strategy is really good.

"The difference between winning and losing... Is... Just... One... Point."
__________________

One word.

Aiden.

RTC.
Profile Image for Karima chermiti.
918 reviews159 followers
April 7, 2020

You were worried about failing in the eyes of someone else. When you fence don't think about the outcome of the match. Don't think about winning. Winning is a distraction. Think about fencing. Think about fencing well, in the way that you enjoy


I really enjoy this series but it’s just so short in a way that doesn’t let you feel the characters and feel the story. The moment between Nicolas and the coach was great and the intensity of the match between Aiden and Seiji were done shown really well.

I just want more from the characters especially since I feel that the dynamics development between certain characters isn’t that great. I love the focus on fencing and how competitive it is but I still hope for more meaningful interaction between the characters.

Anyway, this was fun overall; it was also tense and kept me engaged. Let’s just see where the story takes us next

Profile Image for DAONUEA.
33 reviews
August 8, 2018
This shit, está cada vez mejor.

Me ha dejado muy buena pinta, y un amargo sabor de boca. La trama que ha desarrollado esta autora me ha dejado queriendo más.
Los personajes cada vez más se van desenvolviendo en la trama y eso me parece un punto a favor. Los matches me parecen brillantes, Pacat ha tomado una excelente practica escribiendo los enfrentamientos, son acertados, originales, y muy muy intensos.

El personaje de Nicholas cada vez se descubre más, y mola como todo ahora se vuelve súper gay, porque, vamos, Fence es muy muy gay, i think.

Aiden me ha parecido un genio en está parte, muy acertado y calculador; manipulador.

Muero por leer los demás issues, y saber como todo se vuelve más dark gay.

Profile Image for 『 jaelyn ♛』.
143 reviews37 followers
April 20, 2018
oooo tension oooooo

seiji + aiden's fencing match was :o

and nicholas at the end ??? girl ??? looking like a full course mealllll

seiji come get ur man,,,,,,,,,,,,

(lmao i need to stop)
Profile Image for Mesho &#x1f47e;.
263 reviews66 followers
October 13, 2019
Poor Seiji 😭😭😭🙈
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