fianaigecht's review
2.0
At first, I was following this story okay. It seemed to be a superhero story, with a protagonist who didn't have powers but who was a bit of a vigilante. That suited me just fine -- I'm interested in all those things, and when a mysterious figure called Lee turned up, I was intrigued. Especially since there were eight of him.
Okay, so I didn't entirely know what was going on. I had questions, and the book seemed to expect me to understand hints at the characters' backstory that I really didn't comprehend -- though I checked, and this is intended to be read as a standalone despite also fitting into a larger sequence. But on the whole, I was following what was going on, and I trusted that the rest would be revealed to me.
And then things got weird. About halfway through the book, everything's upended. We learn that the city's not real -- it's some kind of virtual reality. It's a mashup of 40s culture and comic book characters and films that the guy who created it liked. Nothing is actually real. Cue a whole bunch of information and references to comics that went straight over my head because I haven't heard of them. Cue massive confusion on my part, and an inability to figure out how this fitted in to the story as I understood it.
I hoped I'd get past this and get back into the story, but maybe taking a break at that point was a mistake, because when I came back to the book, I found I was still totally lost. I didn't find my way back in. I spent the rest of the book confused, still not entirely sure how this whole virtual reality thing was working and who was real or why. Then that ended up being a major plot point, and I had no clue what was going on.
By the end of the book I was totally lost. Honestly? I don't think I could tell you what happened. I think the main characters came out okay but things kind of went wrong for everyone else in the virtual reality, but who knows? Maybe they weren't even real in the first place; that's entirely possible. And did any of the characters know whether or not they were real? How did any of it work? WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK?
I don't actually remember the last time I found a story that difficult to follow. Hey, maybe it's just my non-comic-based brain getting in the way. I need things to be logical, and I've always struggled to follow graphic novels. I thought it was because of how I process visual stuff, but maybe it's to do with plot and tropes and so on. I don't know.
Frankly, though, I don't know what I just read. I thought I knew what I was getting into, but it just all fell apart halfway through, and all the bits I'd been engaged in (like Mitzi as a character, who seemed interesting and had plenty of backstory that could have been explored in more depth, if it were that kind of book) became secondary to what else was going on.
The same thing happened with the writing style. I enjoyed the crisp way Mitzi's chapters were narrated, and having occasional glimpses of other characters' views was interesting too, but there ended up being too many viewpoints and it wasn't always clear who was narrating, since the chapter title would indicate their nickname or whatever, and I kept losing track of who they all were. There came a point when I wasn't at all sure who was narrating a chapter by the time it was over, let alone during it.
If the book had continued in the vein it started in -- as a reasonably straightforward story about a vigilante in a world of superheroes -- I could have really enjoyed it. As it is, however, I was too confused and distracted to have any idea what was going on, and that was a serious disappointment.
It gets two stars rather than one because I'm willing to allow that (a) I do not have the kind of brain suited to comic books and therefore probably don't have the brain that suits this book either, and (b) I did at least enjoy the first half, barring a little bit of confusion. But that's not saying much, to be honest. I don't know. I don't like writing negative reviews, but I really didn't get on well with this book.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. You know the drill. It's on the NetGalley shelf. Still felt the disclaimer was necessary.
Okay, so I didn't entirely know what was going on. I had questions, and the book seemed to expect me to understand hints at the characters' backstory that I really didn't comprehend -- though I checked, and this is intended to be read as a standalone despite also fitting into a larger sequence. But on the whole, I was following what was going on, and I trusted that the rest would be revealed to me.
And then things got weird. About halfway through the book, everything's upended. We learn that the city's not real -- it's some kind of virtual reality. It's a mashup of 40s culture and comic book characters and films that the guy who created it liked. Nothing is actually real. Cue a whole bunch of information and references to comics that went straight over my head because I haven't heard of them. Cue massive confusion on my part, and an inability to figure out how this fitted in to the story as I understood it.
I hoped I'd get past this and get back into the story, but maybe taking a break at that point was a mistake, because when I came back to the book, I found I was still totally lost. I didn't find my way back in. I spent the rest of the book confused, still not entirely sure how this whole virtual reality thing was working and who was real or why. Then that ended up being a major plot point, and I had no clue what was going on.
By the end of the book I was totally lost. Honestly? I don't think I could tell you what happened. I think the main characters came out okay but things kind of went wrong for everyone else in the virtual reality, but who knows? Maybe they weren't even real in the first place; that's entirely possible. And did any of the characters know whether or not they were real? How did any of it work? WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK?
I don't actually remember the last time I found a story that difficult to follow. Hey, maybe it's just my non-comic-based brain getting in the way. I need things to be logical, and I've always struggled to follow graphic novels. I thought it was because of how I process visual stuff, but maybe it's to do with plot and tropes and so on. I don't know.
Frankly, though, I don't know what I just read. I thought I knew what I was getting into, but it just all fell apart halfway through, and all the bits I'd been engaged in (like Mitzi as a character, who seemed interesting and had plenty of backstory that could have been explored in more depth, if it were that kind of book) became secondary to what else was going on.
The same thing happened with the writing style. I enjoyed the crisp way Mitzi's chapters were narrated, and having occasional glimpses of other characters' views was interesting too, but there ended up being too many viewpoints and it wasn't always clear who was narrating, since the chapter title would indicate their nickname or whatever, and I kept losing track of who they all were. There came a point when I wasn't at all sure who was narrating a chapter by the time it was over, let alone during it.
If the book had continued in the vein it started in -- as a reasonably straightforward story about a vigilante in a world of superheroes -- I could have really enjoyed it. As it is, however, I was too confused and distracted to have any idea what was going on, and that was a serious disappointment.
It gets two stars rather than one because I'm willing to allow that (a) I do not have the kind of brain suited to comic books and therefore probably don't have the brain that suits this book either, and (b) I did at least enjoy the first half, barring a little bit of confusion. But that's not saying much, to be honest. I don't know. I don't like writing negative reviews, but I really didn't get on well with this book.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. You know the drill. It's on the NetGalley shelf. Still felt the disclaimer was necessary.
More...