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rcsreads's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up Rose for the Charles Vess illustrations, which are as always beautiful.
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It's a prequel to Bone, which I've never read, but it was fine to read as a standalone. The plot is a little predictable and Rose's dogs are by far the best characters.
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Worth a read if you're a fan of Vess or Bone.
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It's a prequel to Bone, which I've never read, but it was fine to read as a standalone. The plot is a little predictable and Rose's dogs are by far the best characters.
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Worth a read if you're a fan of Vess or Bone.
the_one_krissy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
minsies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
1.0
One of the dogs dies.
ONE OF THE ROSE'S DOGS DIES BECAUSE SHE KILLS IT.
This is not a children's book. Regardless of how I felt about the rest of it, that dog's death was a fucking gut punch and was unnecessary. Also, I don't like Vess's lettering. It is difficult to read.
This is not a children's book. Regardless of how I felt about the rest of it, that dog's death was a fucking gut punch and was unnecessary. Also, I don't like Vess's lettering. It is difficult to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
north_willow's review against another edition
5.0
It was really enjoyable, though I wish Jeff Smith was the one who illustrated it.
I love Rose's character and I hate that the flaw of her character ultimately led to the death of one of her dogs. In the end, it looks that Rose was not feeling the cheering of the crowd as they praised her for slaying the dragon. Maybe this is the point where she changes
I love Rose's character and I hate that the flaw of her character ultimately led to the death of one of her dogs. In the end, it looks that Rose was not feeling the cheering of the crowd as they praised her for slaying the dragon. Maybe this is the point where she changes
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
3.0
This isn't as good as Bone. In terms of a comic unconnected to Bone it is proably good, but like the Star Wars prequels, some of the plot doesn't match what came before. Which annoys me, though this is faaaaarrrrr better than SW.
I want to know what happened to the cows. There is horses here, not cows. There should be cows. I don't care if it is nitpicking. The cows were cool.
But what I really, truly didn't like was the whole Briar foreshadowing thing. If you've read Bone then you know Briar is the bad master. Here that is foreshadowed by three things. (1) Briar doesn't like dogs (2) Briar doesn't like the outside (3) Briar shows her cleveage. Simplstic characterstics of evil always annoy, especailly the dog one. The reversal of that is that everyone who loves dogs is good, and we know from history that is not true.
Yet, the story was overall engaging.
I want to know what happened to the cows. There is horses here, not cows. There should be cows. I don't care if it is nitpicking. The cows were cool.
But what I really, truly didn't like was the whole Briar foreshadowing thing. If you've read Bone then you know Briar is the bad master. Here that is foreshadowed by three things. (1) Briar doesn't like dogs (2) Briar doesn't like the outside (3) Briar shows her cleveage. Simplstic characterstics of evil always annoy, especailly the dog one. The reversal of that is that everyone who loves dogs is good, and we know from history that is not true.
Yet, the story was overall engaging.
pantsyreads's review against another edition
3.0
Review originally posted here.
Why I Read It: I read and ended up really enjoying Smith's Bone series earlier this spring/summer so I knew I had to read the prequel at some point. Spoiler-free review ahead.
A prequel Bone comic with Gran'ma Ben (though she's a strapping young lass here and nowhere near a grandmother) as the main character? HELL YES!! I was quite excited to read this, especially since the original comic series doesn't touch on the past with Rose and Briar all that much. You know it happened, but they never go into very much detail.
One thing I immediately appreciated about this story was that it was fairly self-contained, despite being a prequel. There's a little preamble at the beginning that talks about some important stuff so that readers who have never read the original Bone series shouldn't be lost. I do still highly recommend reading the original series though as you're likely to enjoy the story more, I would think.
The story itself was pretty good and made good use of the page-count it had, but there was something about the writing that was strange. It was written by Jeff Smith (despite not being illustrated by him -- more on that in a bit), but it didn't read like the original series at all. There was something about it that felt like it was written for a younger audience. One of the things I loved about Bone was that it *wasn't* written in this way, but was still appropriate for children as well as adults.
The drawing style used by Charles Vess for this story didn't really work for me either. His water-colour backgrounds were beautiful, but the way he drew characters was just... blehg. The proportions of the characters' heads looked all wrong, and it was not pleasing to the eye at all.
This review is shaping up to be pretty negative, so I want to make it clear that I *did* like this and I am glad I read it. It just wasn't on the same level as some of the later volumes of Bone.
Final Verdict: A solid one-volume prequel to a really good series. I think fans of the series will like this volume, but I'm of the opinion that it wasn't as well-written or illustrated. The writing style felt like it was aimed at a younger audience, and Vess's art style wasn't my favourite. I'm still glad I read it though, and would be more than happy to own it (whenver I get around to buying the rest of the Bone series for myself.)
f18's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Murder
rkcraig_24's review against another edition
4.0
[b:Bone|92143|Bone|Jeff Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420258957s/92143.jpg|88871] is one of my favorite graphic novel series. I started reading Bone when segments were published in Disney Adventures magazine. I had a subscription when I was a kid, and was always excited when Bone showed up in the Comics Zone. When I was in college, I bought the 1300 page trade paperback linked above, and spent one weekend rereading the whole series. Loving the original series as much as I do, it surprised me that there were prequel books written. I was pretty excited to hear about this, and I borrowed Rose from the library.
Rose is the story of Princess Rose (Gran'ma Ben in the original Bone series) and her sister, Princess Briar, as young women learning about the power of dreaming. Rose is one of the most powerful dreamers in the kingdom; Briar's dream eye is blind, preventing her from using magic. Rose and Briar go to Old Man Cave (a familiar location from the Bone Series) to learn more about the history of the kingdom and to repel a dragon attacking the villages near by.
Gran'ma Ben is one of my favorite of many characters from the original Bone series, and I was excited to read more about her past. I was not disappointed in this prequel. I would highly recommend both this book, and the whole Bone series to fans of graphic novels, fantasy, world building, and likable characters. Seriously love this series and have for many years.
Rose is the story of Princess Rose (Gran'ma Ben in the original Bone series) and her sister, Princess Briar, as young women learning about the power of dreaming. Rose is one of the most powerful dreamers in the kingdom; Briar's dream eye is blind, preventing her from using magic. Rose and Briar go to Old Man Cave (a familiar location from the Bone Series) to learn more about the history of the kingdom and to repel a dragon attacking the villages near by.
Gran'ma Ben is one of my favorite of many characters from the original Bone series, and I was excited to read more about her past. I was not disappointed in this prequel. I would highly recommend both this book, and the whole Bone series to fans of graphic novels, fantasy, world building, and likable characters. Seriously love this series and have for many years.