A review by essinink
Abbott by Saladin Ahmed
4.0
Detroit, 1972
It’s a time of strife and tension, and reporter Elena Abbott’s landed right in the middle of things. After her last expose, which centered on a police brutality incident, she’s been encouraged to keep a low profile. But the latest story to cross her desk has her on the trail of the dark, supernatural forces that killed her first husband, and now have come gunning for her.
My last encounter with Ahmed’s work was Throne of the Crescent Moon, which landed firmly in my DNF pile after about 100 pages, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Abbott. But the art looked good, and the blurb sounded interesting enough.
The story is good. I love Elena’s character, and while the dialogue with side characters was occasionally corny, the art brought those interactions to life, so I found I didn’t mind it overmuch. Thematically, it’s not subtle (the Light of Elena’s investigation and the countering darkness of the Umbra reflected in the racially divided society around her, for example), but it’s also not overlong.
The art is excellent. Love the character models, love the atmosphere. Sami Kivelä and Jason Wordie are a great team, and their work tacks on a whole star just by itself.
Altogether, definitely worth a read.
It’s a time of strife and tension, and reporter Elena Abbott’s landed right in the middle of things. After her last expose, which centered on a police brutality incident, she’s been encouraged to keep a low profile. But the latest story to cross her desk has her on the trail of the dark, supernatural forces that killed her first husband, and now have come gunning for her.
My last encounter with Ahmed’s work was Throne of the Crescent Moon, which landed firmly in my DNF pile after about 100 pages, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Abbott. But the art looked good, and the blurb sounded interesting enough.
The story is good. I love Elena’s character, and while the dialogue with side characters was occasionally corny, the art brought those interactions to life, so I found I didn’t mind it overmuch. Thematically, it’s not subtle (the Light of Elena’s investigation and the countering darkness of the Umbra reflected in the racially divided society around her, for example), but it’s also not overlong.
The art is excellent. Love the character models, love the atmosphere. Sami Kivelä and Jason Wordie are a great team, and their work tacks on a whole star just by itself.
Altogether, definitely worth a read.