djinnetta's review against another edition
3.0
There's a certain interesting phenomena that happens to me when I read a scifi novel, especially a particularly dense one. I feel nauseous, like the smell of the prose makes me ill. I can't explain why this happens and it's not necessarily because I didn't like what I read. In fact, I enjoyed this comic for the most part. The worldbuilding is nice, the characters interesting and the mystery is a nice pull. But actually reading it? The dialogue, the sedate and very calculated tone, made me sick. Think of a constant hum, a droning noise that hits you on a physical level. That's the prose of this book and many existential science fiction like it. It's too bad that I enjoy that brand of scifi so much.
francoisvigneault's review against another edition
5.0
A great sci-fi story that manages to be both discursive and action-packed. Planetary exploration, genetic manipulation, alien ecology, conspiracy, etc. A cool and unique art style too, very grounded even when things start to get wild. A complete story in 4 volumes, Aama ends with a bang, not a whimper.
francoisvigneault's review against another edition
5.0
A great sci-fi story that manages to be both discursive and action-packed. Planetary exploration, genetic manipulation, alien ecology, conspiracy, etc. It's the real deal... It ends with a bang, not a whimper. A cool and unique art style too, very grounded even when things start to get wild (it's a complete story in 4 volumes).
Available in English from Self Made Hero.
Available in English from Self Made Hero.
tavernfrogs's review against another edition
3.0
Alright, I am back! I decided to read Aama after going through Peeters's earlier work Lupus. What I love about his works is that he can really build a world. I feel like his characters are just one story amongst many and his worlds are alive! What I struggle with (especially after reading the other two volumes) is that the women portrayed in Aama feel a little one dimensional. In Lupus it was the manic pixie dream girl trope and for Aama I don't think any of the women pass the Bechdel test. If you can come to terms with that, this is an interesting read with some interesting ideas.
riverwise's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely promising first volume of a French SF graphic novel. Will report more when all four are done
indeedithappens's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cetian's review
4.0
Frederik Peeters has his own style of sci-fi, both visually and story wise. There is a curious mix of playfulness (the robot character being "ape-oid" and not android, for instance) and classic space adventure themes, a refined sense of humour, an impressive style in his character design, somewhere between realism and an european young adult BD look and then all things alien are absolutely gorgeous.
This will be a short review for the first 3 volumes with no spoilers. The way the story develops from volume to volume makes the series worth reading: the story really advances, and a lot of things happens. The narratives inside a narrative work well. As we can see in the first few pages, the main character is trying to remember what led to the present moment. The story unfolds from the recent past to the moment that character fights to get his memory back. Aama is something I maybe should not refer to, in a review of the first volume. Let's just say it reminded me of two films ("Nausicaä of the valley of the wind" and the recent "Annihilation").
Peeters is confortable both with text+image storytelling and moments when the narrative occurs only in images, and he keeps alternating both. This is something that has other good examples, and usually occurs with a great artist that does the whole book (writes and ilustrates), like Bilal in his recent trilogy or Mœbius in his "Le Monde d'Edena". The creativity we see in Aama is both wild and very coherent, and a feast for the eyes.
This will be a short review for the first 3 volumes with no spoilers. The way the story develops from volume to volume makes the series worth reading: the story really advances, and a lot of things happens. The narratives inside a narrative work well. As we can see in the first few pages, the main character is trying to remember what led to the present moment. The story unfolds from the recent past to the moment that character fights to get his memory back. Aama is something I maybe should not refer to, in a review of the first volume. Let's just say it reminded me of two films ("Nausicaä of the valley of the wind" and the recent "Annihilation").
Peeters is confortable both with text+image storytelling and moments when the narrative occurs only in images, and he keeps alternating both. This is something that has other good examples, and usually occurs with a great artist that does the whole book (writes and ilustrates), like Bilal in his recent trilogy or Mœbius in his "Le Monde d'Edena". The creativity we see in Aama is both wild and very coherent, and a feast for the eyes.
rhonig's review
5.0
This first volume of Aama is truly the start of something special. Aama 1: The Smell of Warm Dust is Big, Weird Science-Fiction in the tradition of The Incal, by way of the same dreamy, existential pondering that Peeters brought to previous works, like Pachyderme. The plot is riveting and full of mysteries, told in an intricately layered way, full of stories within stories. Again Peeters knocks it out of the park in the art department, with gorgeous alien vistas and refreshing, unique character designs. I am eagerly looking forward to how this story will play out over the next volumes.
gfox3737's review
5.0
Fantastic European sci-fi with mind expanding art. I can live off of this - and did, while inside a library for the last few hours. I’m satisfied:)
dustyloup's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
4.25
Solid sci fi with a trippy, emotional twist. Definitely
Definitely makes me want to know more about what happened and what will happen! I'm not the biggest sci-fi fan so the fact that I find it engaging says something about the quality. Looking forward to volume 2
Overall rating for the series:
Four stars even though I didn't love it because I really want to read it again in paper format.
E-version led to a strange combo of overwhelm and fragmented focus.
Even though he's not such a great guy, we all think we'd be more like Verloc than his brother (minus all the failures, i mean in terms of rejecting the status quo) and not sure how Peeters managed it but somehow the cheesy spoiler* wasn't as cheesy as it could've been. Probably because the visuals were so rich. Loved the clothing design. Futuristic without copying previous sci-fi works.
*Jesus-like symbolism and message about self sacrifice for (family and) humanity
Definitely makes me want to know more about what happened and what will happen! I'm not the biggest sci-fi fan so the fact that I find it engaging says something about the quality. Looking forward to volume 2
Overall rating for the series:
Four stars even though I didn't love it because I really want to read it again in paper format.
E-version led to a strange combo of overwhelm and fragmented focus.
Even though he's not such a great guy, we all think we'd be more like Verloc than his brother (minus all the failures, i mean in terms of rejecting the status quo) and not sure how Peeters managed it but somehow the cheesy spoiler* wasn't as cheesy as it could've been. Probably because the visuals were so rich. Loved the clothing design. Futuristic without copying previous sci-fi works.
*Jesus-like symbolism and message about self sacrifice for (family and) humanity