Reviews

Whiteout by Greg Rucka

jennifermreads's review against another edition

3.0

U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko has made Antarctica her home trying to forget her past and live in peace. When a dead body, surrounded by drill holes, turns up out on the ice, Carrie must find the killer before the last flight leaves the ice and the long night begins.

As murder mysteries go, this one had a unique (and very cold) setting. The ice and wind create additional challenges for investigations – and our main character is full of her own problems. While I appreciated and enjoyed the travel across the continent and the twists in the search for the killer, I found the reason for the crime a bit far-fetched:

Spoiler

gold in the ice? I would have believed the uranium that Lily feared but gold? Pulled up in the cylinders? Whole? Nope. Should have gone with uranium.

Still, I’m intrigued enough by Carrie Stetko to read the second volume of Whiteout.

pietan's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

justiceofkalr's review against another edition

4.0

I keep bouncing back and forth between three and four stars for this one. I really like the characters, setting, and art, but I felt that the story was a little predictable. Either it was meant to be obvious who committed the crime it, or the foreshadowing was way overdone. Either way, the whole plot was fairly standard, not bad but not particularly stand-out. On the positive side, I really liked the black and white art style for this story. The feel of the gritty detective story set in the stark wasteland of Antarctica really benefited from the style. I also really liked the main protagonist, though there were some moments where I felt her toughness bordered on being over the top, overall I didn't think it quite crossed the line into ridiculous for me.

magnetgrrl's review

4.0

This is an excellent piece of detective fiction. Greg Rucka hails from the style of detective writing that's not exactly hard-boiled or noir, but still very fast-paced and action oriented, without a lot of introspection or flowery prose. Steve Leiber succeeds in making Antarctica look lonely, dangerous, and beautiful with his sparse black and white illustrations. Short and sweet, it's an excellent if simple murder mystery tale with well-paced story telling, and a compelling lead character. And I didn't really know who did it until the very end. I'm excited to see the movie when it comes out and hoping it lives up to its origins.

raetracer's review

5.0

I'm a sucker for all things Antarctica, so a story about a female US Marshal solving a murder at McMurdo station is right up my alley! Loved the main character and the art style as well.

external_cyberbrain's review

4.0

Sweet book, hope the movie is as good.

brideshead's review

3.0

3.5 icicles

Great idea and setting; any story set in Antarctica has my heart. Could barely understand most of the action, though, and I'm still confused about the mystery. Didn't really identify with the characters much, but that's just me.

mferrante83's review

5.0

I kept hearing that Whiteout is being made into a movie and since I’ve enjoyed Rucka’s work on Superman (a comic I’d normally steer clear of) as of late figured I’d give this one a shot. It helped that I managed to pick it up at BEA though only rediscovered tucked away on a bookshelf just this month. I have a fondness for the stories featuring the barren arctic (Steve Niles’ 30 Days of Night on the opposite hemisphere and Lovecraft’s epicly awesome At the Mountains of Madness being two favorites; not to mention the ever classic Carpenter version of The Thing)there is something wondrous about the setting. Maybe it is the beauty combined with the constant struggle for survival that somehow manages to evoke a certain bleakness of tone that I always find particularly compelling.

Full review here.

markmtz's review

4.0

This graphic novel collects the four-issue mini-series published by Oni Press. The story is by Greg Rucka, illustrated by Steve Lieber with additional artwork by Frank Miller, Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, and Dave Gibbons. Rucka’s tale about a U.S. Marshall serving in Antarctica and investigating multiple murders on the ice, is lean and taut. The black and white artwork fits the stark location and the main character’s personal demons nicely.

Published in trade paperback by Oni Press.

psykobilliethekid's review

5.0

Can't go wrong with Greg Rucka. Once I started reading this I couldn't put it down. Great strong lead with a strong story. Might have to read this again in the near future. (And that's saying something since I hardly ever read a book a second time so close after the first.)