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howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)
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#0.1 The Demon in the Wood ★★★★★
#1 Shadow and Bone ★★★☆☆
#1.5 The Tailor ★★★★★
#2 Siege and Storm ★★★☆☆
#3 Ruin and Rising ★★★★☆
This story is marked as #0.1, and it is certainly a prequel story, but I'm not sure if it would've had half as much impact on me, had I read it before finishing Ruin and Rising. On its own, this is a sad, haunting story about a sweet little boy, on the run with his mother, seeking sanctuary and finding none.
After finishing the main trilogy, however, this story becomes so much more: it's a story of how the Darkling came to be, the moment of his villain origin story's beginning. It puts weight on why his name is so closely guarded (and why it means so much to him in Ruin), on how far his relationship with his mother came over the years (or should I say, how far it fell), and on why he so desperately wanted to create a safe world for the Grisha.
Where Ruin at times damaged his character arc for me, this story repaired some of that, and made me love the Darkling a little bit again. I enjoyed this short tremendously, and for the first time in a while,
Spoiler
found myself wishing for more time with precious Aleksander.
#0.1 The Demon in the Wood ★★★★★
#1 Shadow and Bone ★★★☆☆
#1.5 The Tailor ★★★★★
#2 Siege and Storm ★★★☆☆
#3 Ruin and Rising ★★★★☆
Poor, sweet, wounded little Genya. :(
This short story gives some insight into Genya's day-to-day life as a tailor, including how she came to fall out of the queen's good graces (not through any fault of her own, unsurprisingly), and what the catalyst was that led her to seek the Darkling's help. I know this is listed as #1.5 in the series, but I personally think it "fits" better if you read it right after Siege.
Content warnings for rape and victim-shaming.
This is the first issue in the series that I've given less than 4 stars, and I don't think it's any coincidence that it's the point in the series where Noelle Stevenson has stopped writing for the Lumberjanes books entirely and has handed it over to Shannon Watters. Without Noelle's fantastically unique art style or her precious and funny writing, this volume fell very short for me. I think I'll give volume 7 a try to see if it's just growing pains from the transition of authors, but if volume 7 doesn't live up to par, either, I think I'll have to say goodbye and just remember the first 5 volumes fondly. :(
I wasn't wild about Volume 4 and strongly considered not continuing the series, but I already had Volume 5 from the library, so I figured I might as well give it one more volume, and I'm glad I did! This volume was much better than #4. It was action-packed and I really loved the shifting perspectives between Marko and Alana's respective journeys. Alana redeemed herself for her ridiculousness in Vol 4, and Marko learned how to move past his violent tendencies. This volume was so endearing as far as Marko, Alana, and Hazel go, and it made me want so badly for them to have a happy ending (though I somehow doubt that will happen).
This is one of those reviews that is a bit painful to write, because I already know people are going to judge me for it, but wow, where do I even begin to tell you how strongly I disliked this book?
This was my first time reading anything by Vonnegut, and I had high hopes. So many people in my circles love his writing, and he's considered by many to be one of the greatest satirists of our time (as someone who loves a good bit of satire, this in particular piqued my interest). I didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what I got.
This book is a disaster. The writing is all over the place, there is no cohesive plot (even many of the 5-star reviews I'm seeing state the same thing, so at least I know I'm not alone here), the repetition is god-awful, and the sci-fi facet is so underdeveloped that I kept forgetting it even was a part of the book—which is a damn shame, considering this book is so frequently marketed as science fiction!
On top of how much I disliked the general narrative, story, and humor (I physically rolled my eyes more than once), this was such a ridiculously uncomfortable thing to read. I know, "it's a product of its time", so I can promise you, the star rating is not based on what I'm about to say (if it were, this would be a 1-star read instead of 2), but what the hell was up with Vonnegut's obsession with people with dwarfism? He literally could not refer to one character for more than a single sentence without calling him a "midget" or referring to him as "small" or talking down to him. It was disgusting and crass, even for that time frame, to treat someone as less of a human than yourself because of a medical condition they were born with.
I could honestly rant for days about how much I hated this book, and how hard it was to power through to the ending. It's also grossly sexist, features what might have been the world's first example of insta-love in a sci-fi novel, and creepy. The only reason I'm giving this 2 stars is because, as someone who was burned by Christianity when I was younger, I have to admit that some of his rude remarks about religion were entertaining and/or very valid, observant points.
I'm so sorry to everyone who had such high hopes that I would love this author, but this book was honestly a bad enough experience that I doubt I'll pick up any of his other works.
This was my first time reading anything by Vonnegut, and I had high hopes. So many people in my circles love his writing, and he's considered by many to be one of the greatest satirists of our time (as someone who loves a good bit of satire, this in particular piqued my interest). I didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what I got.
This book is a disaster. The writing is all over the place, there is no cohesive plot (even many of the 5-star reviews I'm seeing state the same thing, so at least I know I'm not alone here), the repetition is god-awful, and the sci-fi facet is so underdeveloped that I kept forgetting it even was a part of the book—which is a damn shame, considering this book is so frequently marketed as science fiction!
On top of how much I disliked the general narrative, story, and humor (I physically rolled my eyes more than once), this was such a ridiculously uncomfortable thing to read. I know, "it's a product of its time", so I can promise you, the star rating is not based on what I'm about to say (if it were, this would be a 1-star read instead of 2), but what the hell was up with Vonnegut's obsession with people with dwarfism? He literally could not refer to one character for more than a single sentence without calling him a "midget" or referring to him as "small" or talking down to him. It was disgusting and crass, even for that time frame, to treat someone as less of a human than yourself because of a medical condition they were born with.
I could honestly rant for days about how much I hated this book, and how hard it was to power through to the ending. It's also grossly sexist, features what might have been the world's first example of insta-love in a sci-fi novel, and creepy. The only reason I'm giving this 2 stars is because, as someone who was burned by Christianity when I was younger, I have to admit that some of his rude remarks about religion were entertaining and/or very valid, observant points.
I'm so sorry to everyone who had such high hopes that I would love this author, but this book was honestly a bad enough experience that I doubt I'll pick up any of his other works.
It feels really weird for a graphic novel - a horror one, at that - to make me laugh, grin, rage, and even ugly cry a little... but I guess that's Joe Hill for you. This was such an incredibly delightful series and I'm so happy that I picked it up. If Joe ever decides to write more graphic novels, sign me up. This was the perfect ending to the series - everything I wanted and more. This volume broke my heart, stitched me back together, and patted me on the shoulder before driving away, leaving me awestruck in its dust.
(What I'm trying to say is, I adored every damn volume of this series, and if Joe and Gabriel ever decide to continue the series, or write a prequel, or a spinoff... I'm so there for it.)
I can't tell you what happens in this volume, because it would spoil the whole series, but what I can tell you is that you won't be disappointed.
Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.
(What I'm trying to say is, I adored every damn volume of this series, and if Joe and Gabriel ever decide to continue the series, or write a prequel, or a spinoff... I'm so there for it.)
I can't tell you what happens in this volume, because it would spoil the whole series, but what I can tell you is that you won't be disappointed.
Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.
Joe Hill has this bizarre-yet-fantastic writing aesthetic in which he likes to save the backstory for last. He just kind of plunges you into the heart of the story, and slowly works his way back until you understand why things are happening. This volume proved to me that Locke & Key is no difference. Fantastic volume with beautiful artwork and a twisted, delightful story, as always. I'm just sad that it's almost at an end.
In this volume, Tyler and Kinsey discover a brand new key: a time-shifting one, that will take them to any day they want to visit (as long as it's pre-Y2K). Naturally, the teens use their newfound toy as an opportunity to learn a bit about their old man, and in turn, we get to learn a lot about old Keyhouse.
Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.
In this volume, Tyler and Kinsey discover a brand new key: a time-shifting one, that will take them to any day they want to visit (as long as it's pre-Y2K). Naturally, the teens use their newfound toy as an opportunity to learn a bit about their old man, and in turn, we get to learn a lot about old Keyhouse.
Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.
Funny enough, given that Volume 3 was my favorite of the series so far, Volume 4 was my least favorite. There was a lot of action without dialogue that made it just feel like filler material, as well as some particularly sad events that were a little bit hard to follow through the storyline.
One thing I did enjoy about this volume, however, was the opportunity it took to make fun of bigoted, racist assholes. I never get tired of that.
Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.
One thing I did enjoy about this volume, however, was the opportunity it took to make fun of bigoted, racist assholes. I never get tired of that.
Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.