A review by artemishi
Godlings and the Gates of Chaos by Luke Jackson

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Characters: 7, several of the characters immediately had personalities that shone through (Chaac and Ra, most notably), and I could distinguish between them. Some, such as Tiamat, had an intriguing backstory that was glazed over, but I found myself rooting for them all anyway. 

Atmosphere: 7, the graphics are vividly colorful and engaging. I tend to prefer more subtlety in my graphic novels (artwork and story), but I think this is aimed at YA readers and it definitely has a "classic superhero" vibe to it, so that fit. I wished we could've explored the underwater base more, because the possibilities for coolness there are infinite. 

Writing: 5, I didn't engage very well with the dialogue. So much exposition was thrown out there, with a lot of interesting things commented on or described, instead of shown. I think the characters could've been more developed if we got to see their reaction to a thing, rather than have them baldly state how they feel all the time. And the pacing was a little too rush for me to feel like the more sentimental dialogue was genuine. 

Plot: 6, it's pretty run-of-the-mill Bond villain stuff, but with gods of ancient civilizations. I don't know why we must always cast gods of the underground or of the dead as inherently evil and power-hungry, but apparently that's a trope that will never die. The group dynamic isn't really explored at all (no internal power struggles, trust issues, crushes, or anything), which felt like a missed opportunity, and I didn't feel like the stakes were very high. In a way, it reminded me of Scooby Doo episodes. 

Intrigue: 6, I mostly kept flipping on the hope that we'd see more development. The seeds were there to play with interpersonal drama and conflicts, but then they never got explored. The action plot was lackluster, to me. 

Logic: 6, I think the world-building was exactly as much as it needed to be to tell the story. We're dropped in media res, and never given explanation about the Knights of Horus, how this whole Avengers-esque group of reincarnated gods came to be, how their powers work, or who runs the show. So with the limited info we have, everything seems to work along linear logic. It's also very much overexplained who is bad and why, so no vagueness there. 

Enjoyment: 6, I kept hoping for more depth and development, but in fairness to the graphic novel it doesn't really promise to be a deep story. Just a swift, page-turning, shallow action story with bright colors and clever references to mythology. 

**I received a copy of this graphic novel on loan from NetGalley, for the purposes of reviewing it. This in no way influenced my experience of the book.