mweis's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
*I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. *
In this cute graphic novel, Giants-That-Were (humans) have disappeared leaving genetically altered hamsters (H.A.M. - the Hamster Aquatic Mercenaries) tasked with saving the badgers from a flood.
I loved the world building here! Everything felt really thought out and detailed. I loved the little hints of what happened to the humans to make them disappear and the personnel dossiers scattered throughout. I really liked the characters, they all felt very distinct. I loved Ruby and Mac's dynamic a lot and there were several moments where I found myself laughing.
My only real complaint would be related to the target audience. I thought it was meant to be middle grade, but some of the scenes were a little violent (in one scene a snake's head explodes and the hamsters are covered in gore) and in a few places the vocabulary seemed a little difficult for the younger end of middle grade readers.
In this cute graphic novel, Giants-That-Were (humans) have disappeared leaving genetically altered hamsters (H.A.M. - the Hamster Aquatic Mercenaries) tasked with saving the badgers from a flood.
I loved the world building here! Everything felt really thought out and detailed. I loved the little hints of what happened to the humans to make them disappear and the personnel dossiers scattered throughout. I really liked the characters, they all felt very distinct. I loved Ruby and Mac's dynamic a lot and there were several moments where I found myself laughing.
My only real complaint would be related to the target audience. I thought it was meant to be middle grade, but some of the scenes were a little violent (in one scene a snake's head explodes and the hamsters are covered in gore) and in a few places the vocabulary seemed a little difficult for the younger end of middle grade readers.
readalongwithnat's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received a free eARC from Netgalley and Oni Press in exchange for my honest review.
This is definitely going on my list of graphic novel series to recommend to folks. This volume is super engaging and shows many friendships between unlikely characters. The way grief is portrayed throughout the book is very moving and relatable. Perfect for animal and science lovers, and fans of The Endangereds.
This is definitely going on my list of graphic novel series to recommend to folks. This volume is super engaging and shows many friendships between unlikely characters. The way grief is portrayed throughout the book is very moving and relatable. Perfect for animal and science lovers, and fans of The Endangereds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Grief
destdest's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
You would think with this premise, it’s a joke. But no, this story plays it straight. Characters die, stuff gets gory, and there’s a real threat of life and death. If you ever wanted to see a hamster wielding a machine gun loaded with marbles, here ya go.
The art style isn’t the most appealing to me, but the color direction and story shows the amount of effort put into this.
bradleygirl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
thevreads's review
4.0
The story is pretty neat and the giants they were referring to were humans!! ok so basically this a story of hamsters who were genetically modified by humans before they went extinct?! and how these cute little hamsters survive the world (a pretty cruel one ) by using their skills and upgraded genes.
The illustrations were excellent, but for a children's book, it had some gruesome scenes! It had the friendships and enmities portrayed nicely. overall it was a good read.
The illustrations were excellent, but for a children's book, it had some gruesome scenes! It had the friendships and enmities portrayed nicely. overall it was a good read.
hipstamom's review
slow-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
4.75
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this complimentary eARC. I love this graphic novel. It's a post-apocalyptic tale about genetically modified hamsters and how they survive in a grim world. The hamsters are so flipping cute! The illustrations reminded me of The Secret of NIMH I would recommend this graphic novel for tweens because of the gruesome action sequences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
deepfriedaries's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
etienne02's review
3.0
2,5/5. Interesting universe but a comic that I find really slow in the story evolution and just felt unbalanced alternating between long pages full of dialog and then a fews pages of action, and then back again... Could have bee done better. Still not bad and could please some. The animals heroes is always entertaining and done okay here.
stayathomereader's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
This was like reading a post-apocalyptic Redwall meets Rats of NIMH! Really fun, beautifully illustrated and colored- visually a huge success! The story line was similarly engaging, with a cast of loveable characters who have a delightful chemistry and a history the reader only catches glimpses of based on their interactions, but still manages to fully develop them.
The world building on one hand is easy to grasp- it is Earth and therefore familiar, but on the other hand leads to many questions: where are the humans (the "giants that were"), has there been an apocalyptic event, a natural disaster?
Some of the action scenes were surprising violent/graphic, but not upsettingly so... they just caught me off guard when first starting and still unsure of the target audience. (Young adult to adult, I would think). The use of animal characters made the story appealing to a nostalgic familiarity (Redwall, NIMH, Watership Down), while the subject of survival in a world left behind appeals to a present day climate crisis anxiety, with young characters just coming into their roles, and older characters bringing their history/experience/knowledge to the situations.... at age 34 I feel like my age lends to establishing a balanced connection to all parts of the story.