kinbote4zembla's review against another edition
3.0
This fourth volume of Fables is a bit of a letdown. The first story arc, "War Stories," in which Bigby Wolf's time fighting in WWII is recounted, is — while conceptually interesting — executed very poorly. The artwork is not up to snuff and the story does nothing to elevate it from its pulp-fiction trappings.
"The Mean Seasons" is all right. I didn't dislike it. I loved the seasonal structure. But I just found this uninteresting. Snow White is being removed from a position of power to go an be a mother on the farm. And Bigby has just fucked off. All right. Well, Beauty and the Beast aren't really characters, yet, so having to watch them fill in for Snow White and Bigby is dull. I just hope this is a short interlude. I would like to get back to characters I care about as soon as possible.
I think the most successful thing about "1001 Nights of Snowfall" is just how extravagant it is. The storybook framing device is sweet and the artwork in the comics is consistently beautiful. This section, even though it is the least relevant to the main storyline of Fables, is the most satisfying because we get to explore the backstories of characters that haven't had a moment in the spotlight. The story about the witch was my particular favourite. And the one about Reynard.
Well. Whatever. "1001 Nights of Snowfall" makes this volume worth the read because it is the only storyline that isn't pretending to be essential the main story arc of Fables. Even though "War Stories" and "The Mean Seasons" were storylines from the comic book and not separate graphic novels like "1001 Nights of Snowfall," they have this completely different and tonally dissonant stories.
3.5 Invisible Murder Babies out of 5
"The Mean Seasons" is all right. I didn't dislike it. I loved the seasonal structure. But I just found this uninteresting. Snow White is being removed from a position of power to go an be a mother on the farm. And Bigby has just fucked off. All right. Well, Beauty and the Beast aren't really characters, yet, so having to watch them fill in for Snow White and Bigby is dull. I just hope this is a short interlude. I would like to get back to characters I care about as soon as possible.
I think the most successful thing about "1001 Nights of Snowfall" is just how extravagant it is. The storybook framing device is sweet and the artwork in the comics is consistently beautiful. This section, even though it is the least relevant to the main storyline of Fables, is the most satisfying because we get to explore the backstories of characters that haven't had a moment in the spotlight. The story about the witch was my particular favourite. And the one about Reynard.
Well. Whatever. "1001 Nights of Snowfall" makes this volume worth the read because it is the only storyline that isn't pretending to be essential the main story arc of Fables. Even though "War Stories" and "The Mean Seasons" were storylines from the comic book and not separate graphic novels like "1001 Nights of Snowfall," they have this completely different and tonally dissonant stories.
3.5 Invisible Murder Babies out of 5
pastel_princess's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jnikolova's review against another edition
4.0
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
I feel like there was a bit of bad period for Fables around Vol. 2-3, but then it started picking up pace here and I’m really happy with the current progression. I see a development both in the characters that we already have as people, a narrative progression towards the Adversary, and an increase of fable characters, which I highly appreciate.
My favourite part of this deluxe edition, however, were the 1001 Nights of Snowfall. I thought that that was just fantastic, because I love backstories and they make characters feel more realistic to me. Most of all, I was interested by the stories of Flycatcher and Snow White. I seem to have either missed it, or it still hasn’t been explained, but I had no idea why Snow felt the way she did about the seven dwarfs. As I am aware that Disney Snow White and fable Snow White are very different characters, I wasn’t sure how these two stories would fit into the same world, or whether they would fit at all, but I expect something more grotesque to be revealed soon.
In all honesty, I am already reading the next volume, so I already know that the story is getting even more juicy, and I’m definitely hyped right now.
I feel like there was a bit of bad period for Fables around Vol. 2-3, but then it started picking up pace here and I’m really happy with the current progression. I see a development both in the characters that we already have as people, a narrative progression towards the Adversary, and an increase of fable characters, which I highly appreciate.
My favourite part of this deluxe edition, however, were the 1001 Nights of Snowfall. I thought that that was just fantastic, because I love backstories and they make characters feel more realistic to me. Most of all, I was interested by the stories of Flycatcher and Snow White. I seem to have either missed it, or it still hasn’t been explained, but I had no idea why Snow felt the way she did about the seven dwarfs. As I am aware that Disney Snow White and fable Snow White are very different characters, I wasn’t sure how these two stories would fit into the same world, or whether they would fit at all, but I expect something more grotesque to be revealed soon.
In all honesty, I am already reading the next volume, so I already know that the story is getting even more juicy, and I’m definitely hyped right now.
veelaughtland's review against another edition
4.0
This particular volume wasn't as brilliant as the previous volume for me, as there was less of a continuous narrative. However, this was by no means a bad volume: there was a mix of different storie and art styles, and some truly kick-ass moments.
War Stories - 3.5 stars.
This section told the story of one of Bigby Wolf's previous experiences at war against the Nazis. Although I wasn't as interested in the first part of the story, up until certain antics that happened towards the end of the first part, I really enjoyed the latter half as it as exciting and a certain famous character appeared which excited me. Overall a fun tale, but I would have preferred it more if I had been a fan of war-related stories.
The Mean Seasons - 4.5 stars.
This section returned to the various Fabletown characters. Snow's children are not what they seem, strange murders are cropping up with an unknown assailant at the helm, a surprising character appears on the farm, and the running of Fabletown is not going smoothly. Although this storyline was a lot more serious than some past storylines, I did still enjoy it as I saw real character development. I also enjoyed the fact that lesser characters had their parts expanded in this edition. The story was split into four seasons, making it enjoyable and easy-to-digest.
1001 Nights of Snowfall - 4 stars.
This section of the volume was very interesting, as it was inspired by One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Here we find Snow having to tell stories of the various residents of Fabletown in an attempt to not be wedded, bedded, and beheaded by the cruel Sultan, taking the place of the original storyteller Scheherazade. This was really fun because the artwork differed for almost each story, and it covered a myriad of characters and their own individual stories: everything from the birth and growing up of Bigby Wolf, to King Cole surviving invasion, and even Snow White and Rose Red encountering the witch of Hansel and Gretel's gingerbread house (although she was the same witch of many other tales too). There was a somewhat continuous narrative in between most of the stories, which kept the relevance going, and I enjoyed the different approach.
Overall this was a great volume in the Fables series. Although the continuous storyline was a little disjointed as the extra sections took attention away from the present-day, they were more often than not enjoyable distractions, and I am glad they were included. There were some definite surprises, and it was ultimately a great read.
War Stories - 3.5 stars.
This section told the story of one of Bigby Wolf's previous experiences at war against the Nazis. Although I wasn't as interested in the first part of the story, up until certain antics that happened towards the end of the first part, I really enjoyed the latter half as it as exciting and a certain famous character appeared which excited me. Overall a fun tale, but I would have preferred it more if I had been a fan of war-related stories.
The Mean Seasons - 4.5 stars.
This section returned to the various Fabletown characters. Snow's children are not what they seem, strange murders are cropping up with an unknown assailant at the helm, a surprising character appears on the farm, and the running of Fabletown is not going smoothly. Although this storyline was a lot more serious than some past storylines, I did still enjoy it as I saw real character development. I also enjoyed the fact that lesser characters had their parts expanded in this edition. The story was split into four seasons, making it enjoyable and easy-to-digest.
1001 Nights of Snowfall - 4 stars.
This section of the volume was very interesting, as it was inspired by One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Here we find Snow having to tell stories of the various residents of Fabletown in an attempt to not be wedded, bedded, and beheaded by the cruel Sultan, taking the place of the original storyteller Scheherazade. This was really fun because the artwork differed for almost each story, and it covered a myriad of characters and their own individual stories: everything from the birth and growing up of Bigby Wolf, to King Cole surviving invasion, and even Snow White and Rose Red encountering the witch of Hansel and Gretel's gingerbread house (although she was the same witch of many other tales too). There was a somewhat continuous narrative in between most of the stories, which kept the relevance going, and I enjoyed the different approach.
Overall this was a great volume in the Fables series. Although the continuous storyline was a little disjointed as the extra sections took attention away from the present-day, they were more often than not enjoyable distractions, and I am glad they were included. There were some definite surprises, and it was ultimately a great read.
lidia710's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
l1brarygirl's review against another edition
4.0
interesting volume - we learn many of the characters' stories through snow white in a tale we know as well with a sultan who executes his nightly brides. snow white escapes this fate for 1,000 nights and a night due to her storytelling
avvai's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
krash9924's review against another edition
4.0
Weakest of the series so far. Probably closer to 3.75
leticiatoraci's review against another edition
3.0
I go on reading and enjoying this series even if I now and then find conservative ideas that I don't really like mixed up in the story and subplots, like Jack's story, that I don't really care about.
brittanyae's review against another edition
5.0
I know there are a lot of people who felt like adding in 1001 Nights of Snowfall was unnecessary in this book - that it should've been kept separate - but I'm so glad it was in here. As someone reading through the comics for the first time through this deluxe editions, I have to say that that arc was one of the best things I've read so far. I loved that a guest artist did each story, and even more than that, I LOVED getting to finally see some of the backstories of characters clearly laid out for us to read. I loved every second of this book, not just 1001 Nights, and I cannot wait to keep reading more!