An action-packed, spine-tingling story that will consume the souls of all who read it—in a good way.
Sisters inherit a mysterious box from their late uncle in Carey’s graphic novel.
When sisters Chloe and Jan Peace inherit their uncle’s cottage in Cornwall, they have no clue that contained within is an object that will change their lives forever: the ghostbox. On the outside, the object resembles a standard music box—a battered antique destined for an online auction (“There’s got to be someone out there who gets hot for this kind of thing”). Inside is a universe full of captured spirits who power the box’s enchantments. Said power has made the box a coveted item by a clan of eldritch shapeshifters called the Estival, who will stop at nothing to obtain it and feed on the power of human souls (this is the only way the ancient Estival can return to power and prey on the beings—including angels and humans—that opposed them). As the bodies stack up around reluctant hero Chloe, attracting the attention of local police, she must fight to guard the box from the Estival and ensure the safety of the souls inside. Carey’s epic introduction to this series is decidedly involving and overwhelmingly atmospheric. The naturalistic, accessible prose avoids falling into melodrama, as some comics have a tendency to do. The characters are all diverse and fascinating, offering various perspectives on a cosmic plane that exists in dialogue with the real world. Aspects of realistic mystery narratives and police thrillers are deftly incorporated into more grandiose fantasy and horror storylines, resulting in a compelling blend of realism and fantasy. Raimondi’s artwork is naturalistic and detailed, incorporating surrealism in moments that provide a counterpoint to the more grounded scenes, throwing the reader into a world that feels tipped on its end. The result is a truly immersive first volume of what promises to be a contemporary comics masterpiece.
An action-packed, spine-tingling story that will consume the souls of all who read it—in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781545821275
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
A not-very-illuminating updating of Chaucer’s Tales.
Continuing his apparent mission to refract the whole of English culture and history through his personal lens, Ackroyd (Thames: The Biography, 2008, etc.) offers an all-prose rendering of Chaucer’s mixed-media masterpiece.
While Burton Raffel’s modern English version of The Canterbury Tales (2008) was unabridged, Ackroyd omits both “The Tale of Melibee” and “The Parson’s Tale” on the undoubtedly correct assumption that these “standard narratives of pious exposition” hold little interest for contemporary readers. Dialing down the piety, the author dials up the raunch, freely tossing about the F-bomb and Anglo-Saxon words for various body parts that Chaucer prudently described in Latin. Since “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “The Miller’s Tale,” for example, are both decidedly earthy in Middle English, the interpolated obscenities seem unnecessary as well as jarringly anachronistic. And it’s anyone’s guess why Ackroyd feels obliged redundantly to include the original titles (“Here bigynneth the Squieres Tales,” etc.) directly underneath the new ones (“The Squires Tale,” etc.); these one-line blasts of antique spelling and diction remind us what we’re missing without adding anything in the way of comprehension. The author’s other peculiar choice is to occasionally interject first-person comments by the narrator where none exist in the original, such as, “He asked me about myself then—where I had come from, where I had been—but I quickly turned the conversation to another course.” There seems to be no reason for these arbitrary elaborations, which muffle the impact of those rare times in the original when Chaucer directly addresses the reader. Such quibbles would perhaps be unfair if Ackroyd were retelling some obscure gem of Old English, but they loom larger with Chaucer because there are many modern versions of The Canterbury Tales. Raffel’s rendering captured a lot more of the poetry, while doing as good a job as Ackroyd with the vigorous prose.
A not-very-illuminating updating of Chaucer’s Tales.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-670-02122-2
Page Count: 436
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
PERSPECTIVES
Immensely enjoyable.
The debut graphic novel from Mohamed presents a modern Egypt full of magical realism where wishes have been industrialized and heavily regulated.
The story opens with a televised public service announcement from the General Committee of Wish Supervision and Licensing about the dangers of “third-class wishes”—wishes that come in soda cans and tend to backfire on wishers who aren’t specific enough (like a wish to lose weight resulting in limbs falling from the wisher’s body). Thus begins a brilliant play among magic, the mundane, and bureaucracy that centers around a newsstand kiosk where a devout Muslim is trying to unload the three “first-class wishes” (contained in elegant glass bottles and properly licensed by the government) that have come into his possession, since he believes his religion forbids him to use them. As he gradually unloads the first-class wishes on a poor, regretful widow (who then runs afoul of authorities determined to manipulate her out of her valuable commodity) and a university student who seeks a possibly magical solution to their mental health crisis (but struggles with whether a wish to always be happy might have unintended consequences), interstitials give infographic histories of wishes, showing how the Western wish-industrial complex has exploited the countries where wishes are mined (largely in the Middle East). The book is exceptionally imaginative while also being wonderfully grounded in touching human relationships, existential quandaries, and familiar geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics. Mohamed’s art balances perfectly between cartoon and realism, powerfully conveying emotions, and her strong, clean lines gorgeously depict everything from an anguished face to an ornate bottle. Charts and graphs nicely break up the reading experience while also concisely building this larger world of everyday wishes. Mohamed has a great sense of humor, which comes out in footnotes and casual asides throughout.
Immensely enjoyable.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-524-74841-8
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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