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51 reviews for:
A Once Crowded Sky
Tom Fowler, Tom King, Ruth Lee-Mui, David Ter-Avanesyan, Steve Bryant
3.12 AVERAGE
51 reviews for:
A Once Crowded Sky
Tom Fowler, Tom King, Ruth Lee-Mui, David Ter-Avanesyan, Steve Bryant
3.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had high hopes for this book. I liked the idea of a superhero novel that uses comic tropes and the general premise was very intriguing to me. I’d seen reviews comparing it to Watchmen which I was skeptical of; however, this book was nowhere close to that. It had an interesting opening that unfortunately went nowhere and flat characters that weren’t explored much beyond a name and powers. This felt more like a first draft or even a collection of notes that could’ve been fleshed into something better. I’m glad Tom King got a chance to move onto comics as that’s a much better fit for him. Read those instead, especially his Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
[a:Tom King|2825417|Tom King|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is a talented up and coming comics writer who has written several books recently that I've really enjoyed ([b:The Vision, Vol 1: Little Worse Than A Man|27163019|The Vision, Vol 1 Little Worse Than A Man|Tom King|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1466479787s/27163019.jpg|49571362], [b:The Omega Men: The End is Here|25790655|The Omega Men The End is Here|Tom King|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1470552239s/25790655.jpg|45641527], and he's now taken over Batman), so when I read that he'd put out a novel about superheroes a few years ago, I thought that might be fun to check out. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to have the same gift with prose that he does with comics scripts.
A Once Crowded Sky tells the story of a world full of heroes and villains that was largely stripped of their superpowers as a result of a universe-threatening force. The greatest of the heroes somehow took all of the heroes' powers from them onto himself as part of a plan to end this threat, leaving the world with only one remaining powered hero, a man who was unwilling to make the sacrifice because he had committed to getting out of the game between heroes and villains. The story follows what happens as some of the former heroes discover a new threat and much of the world wonders whether heroes' will have their powers restored and whether those believed dead will return to life, with many characters self-consciously noting that that's how these types of stories tend to end up.
Part of my problem with the story is that I just don't like the superhero universe being presented here (I keep wanting to refer to them as "fake" superheroes, as opposed to the obviously real Marvel and DC superheroes, but you know what I mean). I understand that nearly every conceivable name for a superhero has been taken at this point, but still, there have been plenty of stories set in knock-off universes that struck me as much more convincing ([b:Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City|72111|Astro City, Vol. 1 Life in the Big City|Kurt Busiek|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1468008741s/72111.jpg|97133] and [b:Irredeemable, Vol. 1|6681037|Irredeemable, Vol. 1|Mark Waid|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1442896287s/6681037.jpg|6876264], to name two). The names of characters here were often so bad it was just hard to ignore. The Superman analog here is "Ultimate," which is fine, but his sidekick (the main protagonist in the story here) is named "PenUltimate" which is deeply stupid. A lot of character names seem obviously to have just taken an established superhero concept and thrown it through the thesaurus in an unconvincing way. There's reference to a team of teen heroes called the Young Yeomen, a name no one would ever choose if they weren't specifically trying to avoid directly copying the Teen Titans. There is a villain referenced whose name is "the Red Rapist," which, just, no. Maybe it's silly to attribute my failure to connect with these characters to their names; perhaps the real problem was that they often were not established as interesting characters in their own right. Still--the names bugged me quite a bit.
There were parts of the plot that I found engaging and inventive. The story was told from alternating perspectives of the former heroes of the world, each section labeled as if it were a new issue in that character's own comic series. But the mechanics of the plot felt very hand-wavey, as I often had difficulty tracking just what exactly the threat was and what was happening to people. Ultimately, the story wandered too far into meta-storytelling tropes that I feel have just been done to death. Rather than just telling a story about these super and formerly-super beings, things boil down to navel-gazing about what these stories mean and what they say about the people who read them. This ended up reminding me of [b:Soon I Will Be Invincible|645180|Soon I Will Be Invincible|Austin Grossman|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1320554514s/645180.jpg|955983], another book about superheroes that I was very prepared to enjoy but ended up feeling like a flat and lifeless exploration of stuff that should be a lot more fun. Oh well.
A Once Crowded Sky tells the story of a world full of heroes and villains that was largely stripped of their superpowers as a result of a universe-threatening force. The greatest of the heroes somehow took all of the heroes' powers from them onto himself as part of a plan to end this threat, leaving the world with only one remaining powered hero, a man who was unwilling to make the sacrifice because he had committed to getting out of the game between heroes and villains. The story follows what happens as some of the former heroes discover a new threat and much of the world wonders whether heroes' will have their powers restored and whether those believed dead will return to life, with many characters self-consciously noting that that's how these types of stories tend to end up.
Part of my problem with the story is that I just don't like the superhero universe being presented here (I keep wanting to refer to them as "fake" superheroes, as opposed to the obviously real Marvel and DC superheroes, but you know what I mean). I understand that nearly every conceivable name for a superhero has been taken at this point, but still, there have been plenty of stories set in knock-off universes that struck me as much more convincing ([b:Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City|72111|Astro City, Vol. 1 Life in the Big City|Kurt Busiek|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1468008741s/72111.jpg|97133] and [b:Irredeemable, Vol. 1|6681037|Irredeemable, Vol. 1|Mark Waid|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1442896287s/6681037.jpg|6876264], to name two). The names of characters here were often so bad it was just hard to ignore. The Superman analog here is "Ultimate," which is fine, but his sidekick (the main protagonist in the story here) is named "PenUltimate" which is deeply stupid. A lot of character names seem obviously to have just taken an established superhero concept and thrown it through the thesaurus in an unconvincing way. There's reference to a team of teen heroes called the Young Yeomen, a name no one would ever choose if they weren't specifically trying to avoid directly copying the Teen Titans. There is a villain referenced whose name is "the Red Rapist," which, just, no. Maybe it's silly to attribute my failure to connect with these characters to their names; perhaps the real problem was that they often were not established as interesting characters in their own right. Still--the names bugged me quite a bit.
There were parts of the plot that I found engaging and inventive. The story was told from alternating perspectives of the former heroes of the world, each section labeled as if it were a new issue in that character's own comic series. But the mechanics of the plot felt very hand-wavey, as I often had difficulty tracking just what exactly the threat was and what was happening to people. Ultimately, the story wandered too far into meta-storytelling tropes that I feel have just been done to death. Rather than just telling a story about these super and formerly-super beings, things boil down to navel-gazing about what these stories mean and what they say about the people who read them. This ended up reminding me of [b:Soon I Will Be Invincible|645180|Soon I Will Be Invincible|Austin Grossman|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1320554514s/645180.jpg|955983], another book about superheroes that I was very prepared to enjoy but ended up feeling like a flat and lifeless exploration of stuff that should be a lot more fun. Oh well.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spent all day finishing it just to put it behind me. I think I'm doomed to read books I find mild this year
Ok. So to be fair, I am not a fan of superhero comics. Or anything that goes on for EVER and EVER in circles and never resolves itself. I broke my teeth on Love and Rockets and Elfquest and even those worried me when they started to grow too long. I've stopped watching Walking Dead because it's Just Another Place to Try to Find Refuge every season. You get the idea.
So that said ...
Those were the WORST first chapters I may have ever read that were written by an adult. The painful repetition and circling of words over. And over. And OVER.
I GET IT. I AM NOT AN IDIOT. I SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOOOOOOING SO STAAAAHHHHP.
Yes, the man desperately needed an editor. But also needs less of a sense of Self and more of a sense of Reader. This book read like he was writing a script for a comic. Without the images, I could not make sense of much of it at all. So what was even the point?
Also? If you can't create a set of characters that I can 1) keep straight because they all have stupid names - even after reading half the book - and 2) I can't identify or sympathize with in ANY way, then you have failed. Your book will fail. And Goodreads will reflect this quite clearly. (Which it did before we started reading it, but I figured I'd give it a fair shake.)
I'm disappointed that I spent money on it. STAAAAAHP
So that said ...
Those were the WORST first chapters I may have ever read that were written by an adult. The painful repetition and circling of words over. And over. And OVER.
I GET IT. I AM NOT AN IDIOT. I SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOOOOOOING SO STAAAAHHHHP.
Yes, the man desperately needed an editor. But also needs less of a sense of Self and more of a sense of Reader. This book read like he was writing a script for a comic. Without the images, I could not make sense of much of it at all. So what was even the point?
Also? If you can't create a set of characters that I can 1) keep straight because they all have stupid names - even after reading half the book - and 2) I can't identify or sympathize with in ANY way, then you have failed. Your book will fail. And Goodreads will reflect this quite clearly. (Which it did before we started reading it, but I figured I'd give it a fair shake.)
I'm disappointed that I spent money on it. STAAAAAHP
My review: http://obsessivebookworm.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/book-review-a-once-crowded-sky/
I really wanted to like this one. King's written some interesting comics, but boy, everything about this book beyond the first couple chapters establishing Pen and dropping some hints about Ultimate's sacrifice was an absolute slog to get through. I did like the "chapters named as if a comic book issue" conceit, and Tom Fowler's art was a treat on those few pages where it appeared.
“A Once Crowded Sky” is a comic book in novel form. Like many comic stories, it centers around a huge crisis event that brings all of the worlds superheroes together to fight a great evil. But this time, winning the battle means losing their greatest champion — and all of their powers.
The story beings six months after all of the heroes of Arcadia gave their powers to Ultimate, the superhero robot that inspired them all, so that he could fly off to defeat the threat known as The Blue (and die in the process). The heroes left behind are adjusting to normal lives. All except PenUltimate, former sidekick who quit the game and didn’t show up when the rest of the heroes did. Now Pen is the last super powered being in the world, and when The Blue returns it’s up to him (and a few former heroes) to stop it.
“A Once Crowded Sky” reads like “Watchmen” written by Jack Kirby. It’s another postmodern look at the four colour world of superheroes, but instead of critiquing the genre it celebrates it. While Alan Moore’s view was that only damaged and borderline psychotic people would choose to dress up and fight crime, Tom King’s heroes do it with a Silver Age enthusiasm (in fact, they call themselves “players” and refer to the business of being a superhero as “the game”). They understand and accept the cyclical nature of their never ending battle, which makes it that much harder to live in a world where there are no more superheroes and criminal masterminds.
I enjoyed the story, but thought the book dragged a bit in the middle (which ironically was the most action packed part). Where King really excels is telling the backstories of the heroes that populate his world — characters like Soldier of Freedom and Star Knight and Doctor Speed. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of these characters, and the chapter titles have comic book names like “Ultimate, The Man With The Metal Face #572” and “Solider of Freedom Team Up Special #1”.
If you’re a comic book fan, chances are you’ll enjoy this novel. Tom King has created an interesting group of heroes that owe much to the characters of the Marvel and DC Universes without reading like carbon copies, and he’s placed them in a grown up story that raises questions about what it means to be a hero. As debut novels go it’s very strong, and I’m looking forward to what he writes next.
The story beings six months after all of the heroes of Arcadia gave their powers to Ultimate, the superhero robot that inspired them all, so that he could fly off to defeat the threat known as The Blue (and die in the process). The heroes left behind are adjusting to normal lives. All except PenUltimate, former sidekick who quit the game and didn’t show up when the rest of the heroes did. Now Pen is the last super powered being in the world, and when The Blue returns it’s up to him (and a few former heroes) to stop it.
“A Once Crowded Sky” reads like “Watchmen” written by Jack Kirby. It’s another postmodern look at the four colour world of superheroes, but instead of critiquing the genre it celebrates it. While Alan Moore’s view was that only damaged and borderline psychotic people would choose to dress up and fight crime, Tom King’s heroes do it with a Silver Age enthusiasm (in fact, they call themselves “players” and refer to the business of being a superhero as “the game”). They understand and accept the cyclical nature of their never ending battle, which makes it that much harder to live in a world where there are no more superheroes and criminal masterminds.
I enjoyed the story, but thought the book dragged a bit in the middle (which ironically was the most action packed part). Where King really excels is telling the backstories of the heroes that populate his world — characters like Soldier of Freedom and Star Knight and Doctor Speed. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of these characters, and the chapter titles have comic book names like “Ultimate, The Man With The Metal Face #572” and “Solider of Freedom Team Up Special #1”.
If you’re a comic book fan, chances are you’ll enjoy this novel. Tom King has created an interesting group of heroes that owe much to the characters of the Marvel and DC Universes without reading like carbon copies, and he’s placed them in a grown up story that raises questions about what it means to be a hero. As debut novels go it’s very strong, and I’m looking forward to what he writes next.
I was intrigued by the bio of the author (intern at Marvel comics, then CIA officer) and the style of this novel is clever--told in snippets from the comic book issues of all of the major characters through their perspectives. Several years ago, a massive threat to Arcadia City forced superheroes to surrender their powers to strengthen just one of their own, who then sacrificed himself. His sidekick, Pen, was the only one to refuse, and now, as the only human being with superpowers, finds himself called upon when a new threat emerges...hey, wait, is this a metaphor?