e_t_smith's review
2.0
The challenge with writing serial fiction aimed at long-running ambitions is that you still have to make the opening chapters interesting on their own, and this story doesn't achieve that. The characters and situations might as well all have signs hanging on them declaring "please trust that this gets interesting later." But by this volume's end, nothing had been built up enough to earn any investment, no conflict or challenge had been faced, and I was left feeling like I'd read one issue's worth of story teased out over six. The problems aren't helped by the art, which frankly often appears crude and indistinct, demanding extra effort to understand scenes and recognize characters (there's a particularly infuriating instance when two characters, visually similar except for the colors of their scarves, switch those colors between pages, causing some confusion in dialog). It's not all bad; the wide shape of the world is promising, with it's Indian and Asian influences, and what we see of the characters hints at interesting motives. But hints aren't enough to keep me around for a second volume.
jenessabrooke's review
4.0
Beautiful art!!! They throw you right into the depths of the plot. I wish it had a prologue setting up the world. The characters are vibrant, the illustrations are spectacular. If my library has the later volumes, I'll continue reading.
carroq's review
3.0
I wasn't impressed by this book. There are some great artistic moments where the page layouts and the coloring make the story pop. However, I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. The non-linear storytelling might be part of the reason for that. There is some great world building happening in this series and that is clear throughout. It doesn't fully connect to the events that we see though. The story isn't bad. It could have used a better structure and direction. I feel like this book might benefit from a second reading. Personally, I don't think I will take the time to do so.
amyjoy's review
2.0
I did not love this as much as I wanted to. As I was reading it, I liked it fine, but there's not really anything about it that has stuck with me, and I don't know that I could describe it to another person.
jada221's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
michaeljohnhalseartistry's review
3.0
A few weeks ago I finished From Under Mountains, a middle-eastern themed fantasy comic written by Claire Gibson and Marian Churchland and drawn by Sloane Leung. It tells the story the ruling family of Karsgate Keep, a mountainous fortress on the edge of the kingdom of Akhara. In the aftermath Lady Elena defies her grieving father to assume his role in an ancient trading tradition between the people of Akhara and the goblins that live in the mountains beyond, in order to keep Akhara safe.
This comic book, published by Image Comics, has received rave reviews since it's release in 2016. And I can understand why. The artwork is incredibly beautiful and the story was thoughtful and whimsical. It was unlike any other comic I've read, and almost felt like a progression of movie stills, or a storyboard, with it's simplistic artwork and detail to environment. For example the story ambles forward overtop a number of panels depicting a bird flying over the landscape, or the wind brushing past grass. Instead of concentrating on characters and moving from scene to scene with their dialogue, it dances between scenes with beautiful artwork and delicate scenery.
Despite the incredible artwork, beautiful colouring, and delicate story, something about this story was lacking - the characters. In the dull, slow moving pace of the comic and limited dialogue, the character development and interactions with one another definitely suffer. I never once felt connected to any of the characters and to be honest they all sort of faded into the background beneath the beautiful artworks and barren world. The slow burning story also seemed to ditch any world-building. I want to know more about Akhara, I want to meet the goblins, I just want more. And that could stem from my love for high fantasy. One of my favourite aspects about fantasy is the world in which the story is set, and if it's not fully fleshed out, or if it feels lacking... it hinders my overall experience with the book or comic. I know it shouldn't, but it does. I just like my world-building!
Will I continue on with this series? Yes, I think I will... not out of any loyalty to the characters, or a desire to see where the story goes, I'm really just interested in diving back into this artwork. It was so beautiful, I definitely recommend checking it out just for the artwork alone!
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY NOVELS, AND PHOTOS HEAD TO:
www.michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
This comic book, published by Image Comics, has received rave reviews since it's release in 2016. And I can understand why. The artwork is incredibly beautiful and the story was thoughtful and whimsical. It was unlike any other comic I've read, and almost felt like a progression of movie stills, or a storyboard, with it's simplistic artwork and detail to environment. For example the story ambles forward overtop a number of panels depicting a bird flying over the landscape, or the wind brushing past grass. Instead of concentrating on characters and moving from scene to scene with their dialogue, it dances between scenes with beautiful artwork and delicate scenery.
Despite the incredible artwork, beautiful colouring, and delicate story, something about this story was lacking - the characters. In the dull, slow moving pace of the comic and limited dialogue, the character development and interactions with one another definitely suffer. I never once felt connected to any of the characters and to be honest they all sort of faded into the background beneath the beautiful artworks and barren world. The slow burning story also seemed to ditch any world-building. I want to know more about Akhara, I want to meet the goblins, I just want more. And that could stem from my love for high fantasy. One of my favourite aspects about fantasy is the world in which the story is set, and if it's not fully fleshed out, or if it feels lacking... it hinders my overall experience with the book or comic. I know it shouldn't, but it does. I just like my world-building!
Will I continue on with this series? Yes, I think I will... not out of any loyalty to the characters, or a desire to see where the story goes, I'm really just interested in diving back into this artwork. It was so beautiful, I definitely recommend checking it out just for the artwork alone!
---
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY NOVELS, AND PHOTOS HEAD TO:
www.michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
themadmaiden's review
2.0
It was interesting but a bit hard to figure out what was going on. The art was pretty but apparently there's only one volume so I guess it ends here. Which is a shame, it felt like there was a good story in there somewhere, it just needed to be told better.
mark_cc's review
3.0
There might be something here! It starts with a map and a royal family arguing with itself, in pretty traditional high fantasy fashion. The plot tends to jump around a lot from there, and even though the art did a really good job of making the characters distinguishable (without relying on hair color as the comic book trope so often goes), I still hard a hard time figuring out what was going on.
The problem is that like so many other Vol. 1s, there's a lot of set up, some intriguing and some that falls flat for not being able to tell who was what, and zero payoff. This is fine for a comics series in general but if we're writing decompressed stories for the trades, then I have to have some story beyond Act I Scene I in the first trade. The big deal at the end of this volume is essentially that "Lady Elena will assume her father's role" which it literally says in the solicitation text.
The problem is that like so many other Vol. 1s, there's a lot of set up, some intriguing and some that falls flat for not being able to tell who was what, and zero payoff. This is fine for a comics series in general but if we're writing decompressed stories for the trades, then I have to have some story beyond Act I Scene I in the first trade. The big deal at the end of this volume is essentially that "Lady Elena will assume her father's role" which it literally says in the solicitation text.