froydis's review against another edition
2.0
For what it is, its ok, but certainly not my cup of tea. The illustrations are way bloody and gross, and the storyline, while an interesting premise, isn't as well executed as it could have been.
iffer's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I found Tortured Soul engaging, but it's missing that je ne sais quoi that makes it special. It's a nicely tied-together limited run/mini-series, between the art, which I found a little stiff, the inclusion of a big-boobed blonde in a minidress for no apparent reason except for eye candy, and my difficulty in suspending my disbelief due to the inclusion of cloning, I wouldn't widely recommend this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy (although, once again, crummy digital quality made it difficult to read text written on a dark background).
I found Tortured Soul engaging, but it's missing that je ne sais quoi that makes it special. It's a nicely tied-together limited run/mini-series, between the art, which I found a little stiff, the inclusion of a big-boobed blonde in a minidress for no apparent reason except for eye candy, and my difficulty in suspending my disbelief due to the inclusion of cloning, I wouldn't widely recommend this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy (although, once again, crummy digital quality made it difficult to read text written on a dark background).
daynpitseleh's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel had a pretty unique setup and good plotting. The artwork and character development is good. I'm interested to see where it goes from here.
This graphic novel had a pretty unique setup and good plotting. The artwork and character development is good. I'm interested to see where it goes from here.
urlphantomhive's review against another edition
3.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Since I'm enjoying Twisted Dark so much I thought: let's try something else by Neil Gibson.
Richard has been having a bad year. It started with animals, but soon expanded to everyone he sees. Schrödinger like, he sees them both alive and dead. Obviously freaked out by this, he excludes himself more and more from daily life, until he meets a special girl.
The beginning was so good! I really thought it was going to be one of the best reads of the year. The premise was very good. Unfortunately it then turned into more of a generic storyline that just couldn't interest me that much. I still enjoyed reading it, but it was less than I expected. That's why I gave three stars.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Since I'm enjoying Twisted Dark so much I thought: let's try something else by Neil Gibson.
Richard has been having a bad year. It started with animals, but soon expanded to everyone he sees. Schrödinger like, he sees them both alive and dead. Obviously freaked out by this, he excludes himself more and more from daily life, until he meets a special girl.
The beginning was so good! I really thought it was going to be one of the best reads of the year. The premise was very good. Unfortunately it then turned into more of a generic storyline that just couldn't interest me that much. I still enjoyed reading it, but it was less than I expected. That's why I gave three stars.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
unsquare's review against another edition
2.0
Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.
Tortured Life reads like a hack novelization of a gore-drenched heavy metal concept album, and it’s about as well-plotted as your average double-LP. In fact, the art wouldn’t look out-of-place on a metal band poster, especially when the skull-faced villain shows up and starts killing people.
Rich seems like a nice, normal young man. He has a good job and a beautiful girlfriend, but then one day he starts having visions of how everything and everyone around him is going to die. When the visions don’t go away, his life quickly falls apart and he is left friendless and alone. The book opens on the day he decides to commit suicide because he saw his own death in the mirror.
However, unbeknownst to Rich, his nearness to death opens a door to the underworld, letting through both a helpful ghost girl and the murderous Bloodyman – that aforementioned skull-faced killer.
The ghost girl, Alice, sticks around just long enough to point Rich at some exposition before disappearing from the story until the end. The explanation for her absence is that crossing over to the world of the living is difficult and dangerous, so she can’t keep going back and forth, but it makes her feel even more like a lazy plot device.
When the explanation for Rich’s visions arrives, it is both incredibly convoluted and completely nonsensical. The revelation doesn’t tie in thematically to his visions of death, and Rich and Alice respond to the explanation by as much as throwing up their hands and moving on. The ending is ultimately both anticlimactic and dour.
To be honest, I also really wasn’t a fan of the art style. The book’s cover is eye-catching enough that it drew me in, but the interior art just didn’t do it for me. It’s slightly similar to the cartoony style of the Chew books, but seems ill-suited to Tortured Life’s bleak tone.
However, I think I would have forgiven the art if I’d liked the story and characters more. Tortured Life was an underwhelming read, and I can’t recommend it.
This review originally appeared at Full of Words
Tortured Life reads like a hack novelization of a gore-drenched heavy metal concept album, and it’s about as well-plotted as your average double-LP. In fact, the art wouldn’t look out-of-place on a metal band poster, especially when the skull-faced villain shows up and starts killing people.
Rich seems like a nice, normal young man. He has a good job and a beautiful girlfriend, but then one day he starts having visions of how everything and everyone around him is going to die. When the visions don’t go away, his life quickly falls apart and he is left friendless and alone. The book opens on the day he decides to commit suicide because he saw his own death in the mirror.
However, unbeknownst to Rich, his nearness to death opens a door to the underworld, letting through both a helpful ghost girl and the murderous Bloodyman – that aforementioned skull-faced killer.
The ghost girl, Alice, sticks around just long enough to point Rich at some exposition before disappearing from the story until the end. The explanation for her absence is that crossing over to the world of the living is difficult and dangerous, so she can’t keep going back and forth, but it makes her feel even more like a lazy plot device.
When the explanation for Rich’s visions arrives, it is both incredibly convoluted and completely nonsensical. The revelation doesn’t tie in thematically to his visions of death, and Rich and Alice respond to the explanation by as much as throwing up their hands and moving on. The ending is ultimately both anticlimactic and dour.
To be honest, I also really wasn’t a fan of the art style. The book’s cover is eye-catching enough that it drew me in, but the interior art just didn’t do it for me. It’s slightly similar to the cartoony style of the Chew books, but seems ill-suited to Tortured Life’s bleak tone.
However, I think I would have forgiven the art if I’d liked the story and characters more. Tortured Life was an underwhelming read, and I can’t recommend it.
This review originally appeared at Full of Words
hoffnungswolke's review against another edition
3.0
Tortured Life!!! First things first: I received an ARC through NetGalley.
I really enjoyed this story, even though it sounds pretty weird, cause the story and the graphics were sometimes really bloody and disturbing. I couldn't really connect with the characters but it was a quick and easy read and I didn't feel like wasting my time. Sometimes the text (the red/black for the bloodyman demon thingy) were hard to read, or maybe that's just me cause I read it with a terrible headache.
I'm gonna go and google some puppy pics now, after all the blood and brains and guts I just saw.
I really enjoyed this story, even though it sounds pretty weird, cause the story and the graphics were sometimes really bloody and disturbing. I couldn't really connect with the characters but it was a quick and easy read and I didn't feel like wasting my time. Sometimes the text (the red/black for the bloodyman demon thingy) were hard to read, or maybe that's just me cause I read it with a terrible headache.
I'm gonna go and google some puppy pics now, after all the blood and brains and guts I just saw.
solelylu's review against another edition
3.0
I liked how the story was told. I believe this will be a hit and miss. And I am glad it worked for me.
The art wasn't that great here but it worked with the story. It was gruesome at times. The story is nothing new but was still intriguing-- a secret order trying to master death-- our lead trying to come to terms with what was happening around him and to him.. It got interesting halfway through when we were finally given answers.. It has the scientific elements infused with it along with the underworld business cos the order is trying to cheat death.
Thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for this review copy.
Originally posted here.
The art wasn't that great here but it worked with the story. It was gruesome at times. The story is nothing new but was still intriguing-- a secret order trying to master death-- our lead trying to come to terms with what was happening around him and to him.. It got interesting halfway through when we were finally given answers.. It has the scientific elements infused with it along with the underworld business cos the order is trying to cheat death.
Thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for this review copy.
Originally posted here.
powisamy's review against another edition
Tortured Life is about Richard who after having a completely normal life discovers that he can see when things die. This starts off with seeing the deaths of animals but expands to see the deaths of people including himself. Richard is then forced into this world which will change the way he lives.
The plot of this graphic novel really surprised me as I don't normally read that much horror but I really enjoyed this one. It was fast-paced and some parts kept me on the edge on my seat and I did just want to find out what happened next. The settings were also a nice one for me as I live near London and it was nice to see places that I recognised while reading it. The plot was definitely interesting and kept me engaged.
I also enjoyed the characters in the novel and that were enjoyable and they have quite developed it ways although Richard can be seen as quite normal in terms of characters and was not special.
The artwork was also really nice in my opinion and I really did enjoy it especially with the contrast to the people being dead in contrast to being alive. The colours used were also quite nice in the novel.
Overall, Tortured Life is an enjoyable graphic novel that I would recommend for fans of horror novels.
The plot of this graphic novel really surprised me as I don't normally read that much horror but I really enjoyed this one. It was fast-paced and some parts kept me on the edge on my seat and I did just want to find out what happened next. The settings were also a nice one for me as I live near London and it was nice to see places that I recognised while reading it. The plot was definitely interesting and kept me engaged.
I also enjoyed the characters in the novel and that were enjoyable and they have quite developed it ways although Richard can be seen as quite normal in terms of characters and was not special.
The artwork was also really nice in my opinion and I really did enjoy it especially with the contrast to the people being dead in contrast to being alive. The colours used were also quite nice in the novel.
Overall, Tortured Life is an enjoyable graphic novel that I would recommend for fans of horror novels.