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A review by midici
Kill Shakespeare: A Sea of Troubles by Anthony Del Col, Conor McCreery
3.0
*3.5
There is so much going on in this first volume. You don't need to know the plays to understand what is happening, but it does help inform the interactions between certain characters, and to understand the ongoing call backs to specific plays.
This story begins with Hamlet, who is clearly going to be a main character throughout. He's an absolute disaster, which is true to the play as well. His father was murdered by his uncle, and he has been banished from the city after accidentally killing a nobleman. After he gets tossed off his ship during a battle with pirates, he washes ashore a strange land.
He wakes as a guest of King Richard who proclaims that Hamlet is clearly the "Shadow King" of a prophecy, someone able to kill the "wizard" Shakespeare, and gain control of his magic quill. King Richard wants this quill, wants to rule the neighbouring kingdoms, and wants Hamlet dead as soon as the quill is recovered. This is where things get complicated.
Richard is in an "alliance" with Macbeth, which becomes an alliance with Lady Macbeth after she murders her husband. Titus and Lear are both mentioned as neighbouring kingdoms. The land is full of rebels called "prodigals" who believe that Shakespeare is a god, and that the Shadow King will bring him back to the land to set things right. They are also hoping to dethrone King Richard, who they see as a tyrant.
Juliet Capulet and Othello are leading this rebellion. Iago, who has proclaimed he is Richard's man, but says he has turned his back on him to follow Hamlet, but is in reality working with Lady Macbeth, is playing absolutely every possible field and is not to be trusted.
The next issues will fill in more of the backstory here I imagine. Hamlet is completely confused and semi-useless but honestly props to him for just flat out saying, several times, that pulling someone off a beach and proclaiming them the key to your prophecy is INSANE. This land - and the Shakespeare religion - are completely new to him so he'll be the source of exposition as we follow him along to figure out exactly what his destiny is. Besides a bloody one.
There is so much going on in this first volume. You don't need to know the plays to understand what is happening, but it does help inform the interactions between certain characters, and to understand the ongoing call backs to specific plays.
This story begins with Hamlet, who is clearly going to be a main character throughout. He's an absolute disaster, which is true to the play as well. His father was murdered by his uncle, and he has been banished from the city after accidentally killing a nobleman. After he gets tossed off his ship during a battle with pirates, he washes ashore a strange land.
He wakes as a guest of King Richard who proclaims that Hamlet is clearly the "Shadow King" of a prophecy, someone able to kill the "wizard" Shakespeare, and gain control of his magic quill. King Richard wants this quill, wants to rule the neighbouring kingdoms, and wants Hamlet dead as soon as the quill is recovered. This is where things get complicated.
Richard is in an "alliance" with Macbeth, which becomes an alliance with Lady Macbeth after she murders her husband. Titus and Lear are both mentioned as neighbouring kingdoms. The land is full of rebels called "prodigals" who believe that Shakespeare is a god, and that the Shadow King will bring him back to the land to set things right. They are also hoping to dethrone King Richard, who they see as a tyrant.
Juliet Capulet and Othello are leading this rebellion. Iago, who has proclaimed he is Richard's man, but says he has turned his back on him to follow Hamlet, but is in reality working with Lady Macbeth, is playing absolutely every possible field and is not to be trusted.
The next issues will fill in more of the backstory here I imagine. Hamlet is completely confused and semi-useless but honestly props to him for just flat out saying, several times, that pulling someone off a beach and proclaiming them the key to your prophecy is INSANE. This land - and the Shakespeare religion - are completely new to him so he'll be the source of exposition as we follow him along to figure out exactly what his destiny is. Besides a bloody one.