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wren_in_black 's review for:
The Exile
by Diana Gabaldon
When it takes me several days to finish a graphic novel it's usually because the book isn't very good...
I'm a fan of Outlander and I love graphic novels. I wish I had enjoyed this. I wanted to love it. Unfortunately it wasn't enough in the ways that needed more and it was too much in ways that needed less.
The Exile's sins:
1. Art - Expressions are comical when they shouldn't be. All the young to middle aged men look the same except Jamie, so it was hard to tell Murtagh and Dougal apart. Claire's boobs grow and shrink over the course of the novel. Many point this out in their reviews and I took issue with it too. Diana even mentions the problem in the back pages of the novel and yet did nothing to fix the mistakes. I'm not certain this art style was the best to portray the depth of characterization and the beauty of the landscapes. I've seen such work before in graphic novels, so I know it can be done.
2. Plot - The new character addition of Kenneth is pointless. He accomplishes nothing in the novel. The novel is supposed to be more from Murtagh's point of view but that only lasts for the first few pages. Those pages were the most promising. The graphic novel also rushes through events so quickly that it felt like I got nothing of substance. Sometimes events were so squished together that it was comical, and that was certainly not the desired effect. I feel the graphic novel would have been better served by simply including one new scene not in the Outlander and getting Murtagh's take on that. That's it. Instead the graphic novel tries to cover 500 pages or more of the actual novel and that's simply too much for the space here.
3. Character Development - Since the graphic novel is so rushed, there's no room for the characters to grow. Everything feels forced. It makes Claire seem like she only wanted to stay with Jamie for sex because that's all this books quickly shows between them. All other characters save Claire and Jaime become flat and boring.
4. Dialogue - Again, this is mostly due to the compact nature of the graphic novel, so... the dialogue is simply awful. It's terrible. It's oversimplified and there are portions in Gaelic that shouldn't be, since very few readers will understand and retain the knowledge of complete Gaelic sentences. I love Gaelic, but it wasn't used effectively here.
There's more, I'm sure, but I'm so ready to put this behind me that I'm finished reviewing. This was a total flop. I'm glad I found it used for $3.00 and I'll be happy to lend it on to someone else who's simply curious like I was. Final verdict, don't purchase this graphic novel, even if you're a huge fan of the series.
I'm a fan of Outlander and I love graphic novels. I wish I had enjoyed this. I wanted to love it. Unfortunately it wasn't enough in the ways that needed more and it was too much in ways that needed less.
The Exile's sins:
1. Art - Expressions are comical when they shouldn't be. All the young to middle aged men look the same except Jamie, so it was hard to tell Murtagh and Dougal apart. Claire's boobs grow and shrink over the course of the novel. Many point this out in their reviews and I took issue with it too. Diana even mentions the problem in the back pages of the novel and yet did nothing to fix the mistakes. I'm not certain this art style was the best to portray the depth of characterization and the beauty of the landscapes. I've seen such work before in graphic novels, so I know it can be done.
2. Plot - The new character addition of Kenneth is pointless. He accomplishes nothing in the novel. The novel is supposed to be more from Murtagh's point of view but that only lasts for the first few pages. Those pages were the most promising. The graphic novel also rushes through events so quickly that it felt like I got nothing of substance. Sometimes events were so squished together that it was comical, and that was certainly not the desired effect. I feel the graphic novel would have been better served by simply including one new scene not in the Outlander and getting Murtagh's take on that. That's it. Instead the graphic novel tries to cover 500 pages or more of the actual novel and that's simply too much for the space here.
3. Character Development - Since the graphic novel is so rushed, there's no room for the characters to grow. Everything feels forced. It makes Claire seem like she only wanted to stay with Jamie for sex because that's all this books quickly shows between them. All other characters save Claire and Jaime become flat and boring.
4. Dialogue - Again, this is mostly due to the compact nature of the graphic novel, so... the dialogue is simply awful. It's terrible. It's oversimplified and there are portions in Gaelic that shouldn't be, since very few readers will understand and retain the knowledge of complete Gaelic sentences. I love Gaelic, but it wasn't used effectively here.
There's more, I'm sure, but I'm so ready to put this behind me that I'm finished reviewing. This was a total flop. I'm glad I found it used for $3.00 and I'll be happy to lend it on to someone else who's simply curious like I was. Final verdict, don't purchase this graphic novel, even if you're a huge fan of the series.