A modest but beautifully illustrated supernatural tale that promises an intriguing series.
A young man meets his apparent destiny as a supernaturally powerful protector of worlds in this debut series-launching YA graphic novel.
Long ago, God made the universe out of a void, but she wasn’t alone, and other gods were soon feeding on life. So she created five angels to protect her worlds, including Earth. Lucifer, one of them, felt that God abandoned the angels, and he joined the other gods in destroying life. Surprisingly, the angels managed to fight off the combined threat and vowed to continue defending the worlds. In the present day, E.J. Montgomery reluctantly heads to school, which he finds tedious. In a hallway, he comes across a portal, through which a red-eyed wolf emerges and threatens him. Luckily, a dragon saves him and takes him through the portal to a vast desert. This dragon, who calls E.J. “brother,” convinces the young man that he has the ability to transform into a winged, fire-breathing warrior to battle Lord Lucifer’s minions. Soon others join the fight against formidable foes that seem determined to obliterate all life. Early on, author Montgomery’s story presents a terrific backstory of gods and angels. E.J. takes the reins but unfortunately isn’t a well-developed character, and his narrative feels rushed; because readers hardly get to know him, his transformation has no real impact. Still, this is an introductory volume, and Montgomery hints at potentially intriguing subplots involving E.J.’s absent father, the young man’s contentious relationship with his uncle, and the sudden appearance of someone he knows with supernatural abilities like his. It’s McCoy’s anime-style art that steals the show, featuring vivacious character expressions and often explosive action sequences. The novel practically bursts with dazzling color, which makes up for sections with overly sparse details.
A modest but beautifully illustrated supernatural tale that promises an intriguing series.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 121
Publisher: Black Sands Entertainment
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
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