Reviews

Godlings and the Gates of Chaos by Luke Jackson

graypeape's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This wasn't bad, but it could've been better. The story, though nothing new really, had potential: a group of ancient gods and goddesses reborn as teens work together to protect the world from Evil with a capital "E." The various pantheons and cultures provide lots of interesting possibilities, but the pace felt too swift to explore that much. The story needed more pages, more room to breathe. The fights could've used more pizazz too, they were resolved too easily, and I never felt uncertain about the results, y'know? Still, this does have promise, and I think this series can pick up if Jackson slows the pace and explores the characters more. 

#GodlingsandtheGatesofChaos #NetGalley 

saccalai's review

3.0

Reincarnations of gods from all different myths join forces which is great for all us mythology lovers. I liked the artwork but the story was a bit disjointed. I wasn't sure what was supposed to be happening for most of the book but I think it was basically an introduction to the characters and story to come.

bladelikesbooks's review

adventurous mysterious fast-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? No

5.0

This is a brilliant and fun fantasy graphic novel about the reincarnation of old gods. It includes famous characters such as Sphinx, Roman goddess of the hunt, Mayan god of rain, Egyptian god of the sun, Babylonian goddess of destruction, Greek god of merriment and trickery, Ethiopian goddess of retribution, Brokkr Norse blacksmith to the gods. These are all recruited by the Order of Horus to fight famous creatures including the Kraken and the Rat King but their ultimate goal is to defeat the Mesopotamian queen of the underworld Irkalla and rescue professor Tamiru. 

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The plot was so fun, the characters were a diverse group with such interesting history and abilities and the graphics were amazing. I loved the illustration style and the character design. I don’t think this is a series but I would love to see more from these characters. It’s left kind of open ended teasing the possibility of a sequel and I would love to see that happen. 

I think anyone who enjoys books such as Percy Jackson would adore this graphic novel. Anyone interested in gods, goddesses, demigods, marvel’s eternals, etc. would definitely thoroughly enjoy this book. 

Representation - POC (Chaac; Ra; Irkalla; Sphinx); Black (Nemesis; Professor Tamiru); Japanese (Allira); Hijabi (Sphinx)

TWs/CWs - Abduction; Death of a loved one; Demons; Fire/Fire Injury; Manipulation; Violence

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

demetria_books01's review

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Hmm… alright, how to describe this book? Someone said it’s Percy Jackson meets Teen Titans and I think it’s actually the best description of this comic. I gave myself few weeks to organise my thoughts on this but it kind of backfired. I realised I neither enjoyed nor found this book boring but it was just… too simple. The art is good and the dialogues.. well, I actually don’t remember any of them which speaks volumes. 

My main issue is with the Godlings themselves. They’re supposed to be gods reincarnated or something similar but they all felt flat and uninteresting. I didn’t really care about them. I think due to my love for mythologies from all over the world my first reaction was very positive and enthusiastic but with time I realised that although the idea was great, the execution was pretty meh. 

Yeah, I think that’s a perfect word to describe ‘Godlings and the gates of chaos’:

MEH

6/10 ⭐️

kelreadsanything's review

4.0

I really enjoyed this! It seems like a fresh take on all the ancient Greek or Norse retellings I've seen but with gods from all over included. At the end of the story, the author included character sheets with background on the main characters, their powers, and what type of gods they were. You have Diana the Roman goddess of the hunt, Chaac a Mayan god of ruin, Ra the Egyptian god of the sun, Tiamat a Babylonian goddess of destruction, Dionysus the Greek god of merriment and trickery, Nemesis the Ethiopian goddess of retribution, Brokkr the Norse blacksmith to the gods, and a handler of the team, Master Allira Shima, who reminds me of M from James Bond.

The art style reminds me of a lot of my favorite superhero comics so of course I loved it. The coloring used throughout is perfectly vivid and bold.

The story moved quickly and the team already faces their first big villian - who doesn't go down with out a fight! I can't wait to see what the godlings get into next!

I received this as an ARC from #NetGalley, but all opinions and reviews are my own!

artemishi's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Characters: 7, several of the characters immediately had personalities that shone through (Chaac and Ra, most notably), and I could distinguish between them. Some, such as Tiamat, had an intriguing backstory that was glazed over, but I found myself rooting for them all anyway. 

Atmosphere: 7, the graphics are vividly colorful and engaging. I tend to prefer more subtlety in my graphic novels (artwork and story), but I think this is aimed at YA readers and it definitely has a "classic superhero" vibe to it, so that fit. I wished we could've explored the underwater base more, because the possibilities for coolness there are infinite. 

Writing: 5, I didn't engage very well with the dialogue. So much exposition was thrown out there, with a lot of interesting things commented on or described, instead of shown. I think the characters could've been more developed if we got to see their reaction to a thing, rather than have them baldly state how they feel all the time. And the pacing was a little too rush for me to feel like the more sentimental dialogue was genuine. 

Plot: 6, it's pretty run-of-the-mill Bond villain stuff, but with gods of ancient civilizations. I don't know why we must always cast gods of the underground or of the dead as inherently evil and power-hungry, but apparently that's a trope that will never die. The group dynamic isn't really explored at all (no internal power struggles, trust issues, crushes, or anything), which felt like a missed opportunity, and I didn't feel like the stakes were very high. In a way, it reminded me of Scooby Doo episodes. 

Intrigue: 6, I mostly kept flipping on the hope that we'd see more development. The seeds were there to play with interpersonal drama and conflicts, but then they never got explored. The action plot was lackluster, to me. 

Logic: 6, I think the world-building was exactly as much as it needed to be to tell the story. We're dropped in media res, and never given explanation about the Knights of Horus, how this whole Avengers-esque group of reincarnated gods came to be, how their powers work, or who runs the show. So with the limited info we have, everything seems to work along linear logic. It's also very much overexplained who is bad and why, so no vagueness there. 

Enjoyment: 6, I kept hoping for more depth and development, but in fairness to the graphic novel it doesn't really promise to be a deep story. Just a swift, page-turning, shallow action story with bright colors and clever references to mythology. 

*Read for the Orilium Academy Magical Readathon Autumn Equinox 

**I received a copy of this graphic novel on loan from NetGalley, for the purposes of reviewing it. This in no way influenced my experience of the book. 

exlibristheo's review

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

3.75

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. With its stunning illustrations, fun character design and engaging story, this is perfect for fans of mythology and Marvel comics.