The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
twislerguy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It was a very slow read and I almost quit a few times. There are random tangents that don’t seem to add much to the story and parts felt like filler.
cdbert's review against another edition
Too heavy to fit in our moving van, and too long to finish before the move. Intriguing but after 75 pages I wasn't dragged in enough to sacrifice other books to keep this one.Â
onceuponasarah's review against another edition
1.0
This was a really cool idea. I liked the idea of graphic novel/novel combo. BUT it was WAY WAY too long. The story did not need to be an epic. And because of the length, the switch from illustrations to words became confusing and unnecessary. I wanted this to work, but I would not recommend it.
hannahdthompson's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read! The art was fantastic and the story intriguing. The pacing could have been better. Definitely would recommend for fans of Tintin.
austinstorm's review against another edition
4.0
An incredible labor of love. It's not a pastiche of adventure stories, it's the genuine article. Like H. R. Haggard and similar. The writing is tremendous, it does lose some momentum around page 500 but saves some of its best moments for the last 3rd. I wish there would be more volumes, but I can't imagine such a work (which took 4 years and many, many co-authors and artists) succeeding well enough to warrant another. Nor can I quite imagine it on the screen without significant changes. But I'm hoping against hope for either.
cmishael's review against another edition
3.0
The ending of a book is one of the most important aspects to me, and this one was rather unsatisfactory.
oneheart's review against another edition
4.0
Long for the sake of being long, but enjoyable every step of the way. (Except for some of the early journal entries from Arthur Ogden).
benfast's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book on a whim. Explorers? Graphic novel? Co-written by Kevin Costner?! Why the heck not.
I read it over a snowed-in, cold-suffering long weekend and wasn't thoroughly disappointed, though I wouldn't rate this book near the top of any to-read shelf. The story is exciting enough: full of 1915-style adventure language, a strange mix of characters, secret societies, exotic locales, mystery and mysticism, and a fair few blanked out curse words. The story does drag at times, however, for this is not just a 760ish page graphic novel, but rather half graphic novel have regular novel. The narration (which is the regular novel part) takes the form of letters and diaries and (I think) just straight narration from the...the person telling the story, I forget who exactly he is but he has something to do with the Explorer's Guild. These sections are rich with the 1915-style language that suits the adventure story but makes for a long-winded narration. I often found myself wanting to read quickly to get back to the images.
The images themselves are interesting, four long vertical boxes in a grid pattern on each page. The art is nice, though perhaps not the most outstanding, and I found myself having difficulties keeping track of characters in scenes involving lots of people. But they read easily, were interesting enough, and suited the old-school action they contained.
I was confused by some characters, and by some plot lines that seemed a bit too unexplained to be able to follow easily. Some characters in particular, like Bertram, joined the team and were obviously important, but didn't have anything furthering their clues until the final chapter. Some of the Dragoons themselves were lost in various shipwrecks or accidents, but it wasn't made clear they were lost until later in other scenes when phrases like "only 20 are left now" floated in as if we were supposed to have known that. I hope in the next of the series they spend a bit more time on character development (though I'm not sure what the next installment could be about as the story seemed to wrap up with finality in the last chapter - I guess the plot might be very different though the characters could be similar).
I didn't expect the level of mysticism that would come up in the latter half of the book. The underground rivers were one thing, ok you could suspend disbelief in an Indiana Jones sort of way, but the undead Mr. Sloane and the man who eats so much he - quite literally - turns into an island? I didn't go for that. In my mind elements like that turn the story from a Biggles-style adventure book to a fantasy book. I can live with secret cities and what not, but for some reason I found myself thinking "...really?"
I may read the next in this series if it comes across my path, just to see what they do with it and because it's not the worst distraction. I probably won't buy it though. I also wonder how much Kevin Costner was actually involved with this project...?
I read it over a snowed-in, cold-suffering long weekend and wasn't thoroughly disappointed, though I wouldn't rate this book near the top of any to-read shelf. The story is exciting enough: full of 1915-style adventure language, a strange mix of characters, secret societies, exotic locales, mystery and mysticism, and a fair few blanked out curse words. The story does drag at times, however, for this is not just a 760ish page graphic novel, but rather half graphic novel have regular novel. The narration (which is the regular novel part) takes the form of letters and diaries and (I think) just straight narration from the...the person telling the story, I forget who exactly he is but he has something to do with the Explorer's Guild. These sections are rich with the 1915-style language that suits the adventure story but makes for a long-winded narration. I often found myself wanting to read quickly to get back to the images.
The images themselves are interesting, four long vertical boxes in a grid pattern on each page. The art is nice, though perhaps not the most outstanding, and I found myself having difficulties keeping track of characters in scenes involving lots of people. But they read easily, were interesting enough, and suited the old-school action they contained.
I was confused by some characters, and by some plot lines that seemed a bit too unexplained to be able to follow easily. Some characters in particular, like Bertram, joined the team and were obviously important, but didn't have anything furthering their clues until the final chapter. Some of the Dragoons themselves were lost in various shipwrecks or accidents, but it wasn't made clear they were lost until later in other scenes when phrases like "only 20 are left now" floated in as if we were supposed to have known that. I hope in the next of the series they spend a bit more time on character development (though I'm not sure what the next installment could be about as the story seemed to wrap up with finality in the last chapter - I guess the plot might be very different though the characters could be similar).
I didn't expect the level of mysticism that would come up in the latter half of the book. The underground rivers were one thing, ok you could suspend disbelief in an Indiana Jones sort of way, but the undead Mr. Sloane and the man who eats so much he - quite literally - turns into an island? I didn't go for that. In my mind elements like that turn the story from a Biggles-style adventure book to a fantasy book. I can live with secret cities and what not, but for some reason I found myself thinking "...really?"
I may read the next in this series if it comes across my path, just to see what they do with it and because it's not the worst distraction. I probably won't buy it though. I also wonder how much Kevin Costner was actually involved with this project...?
saldragski's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic and written novel interspersed. Explorers to find the NW passage. WW1 era. Boring.
amberghini's review against another edition
I'm going to try this again when I'm not so stressed out. It looks really good, but the library is only giving me a two week check out allowance.
It's part novel, part graphic novel. Kind of cool.
It's part novel, part graphic novel. Kind of cool.