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geekwayne's review
'Adventuregame Comics: Leviathan (Book 1)" with story and art by Jason Shiga is a graphic novel where you choose the path the main character takes.
You are visiting a coastal town that fears the Leviathan. There are various paths you can take to try to find out more and maybe even help the town, but beware, because there are traps to avoid and some people are hard to talk to.
Reviewing this as a linear digital file took some of the fun out of reviewing it, but I caught the idea and there are some nice puzzles and twists and turns.
You are visiting a coastal town that fears the Leviathan. There are various paths you can take to try to find out more and maybe even help the town, but beware, because there are traps to avoid and some people are hard to talk to.
Reviewing this as a linear digital file took some of the fun out of reviewing it, but I caught the idea and there are some nice puzzles and twists and turns.
christiana's review
4.0
Even better than Meanwhile, imho. You can see how Shiga has grown as a storyteller and I love how this one kind of reminds me of an analog video game! I am not good at choose your own adventure books (I never reach the end and always die), so this is a welcome change to the choose your own adventure plotline and my little gamer heart.
cfw100's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A fun little choose-your-own-adventure style comic.
marypmcg's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
It was fun to learn how to navigate the book, but then the endings were very anticlimactic.
cortjstr's review
3.0
I picked this up because I enjoyed his previous book [b:Meanwhile|7229730|Meanwhile|Jason Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878248l/7229730._SX50_.jpg|8075007]. Obviously I wish this had the larger format and full color that Meanwhile did but I'm sure that would've make it cost significantly more.
Using numbers instead of tabs made it slightly harder to find the next section but did make it much easier for me to track where I'd been.
If you like Shiga's style and/or "legally we can't say Choose Your Own Adventure" books it's a good read.
Using numbers instead of tabs made it slightly harder to find the next section but did make it much easier for me to track where I'd been.
If you like Shiga's style and/or "legally we can't say Choose Your Own Adventure" books it's a good read.
ignescentsky's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I first attempted to read this book as an ebook, I quickly realized that this was a mistake and purchased a physical copy.
Really fun little choose your own adventure adjacent comic. Mechanically it is quite similar to Meanwhile. As far as I know this kind of comic, especially done well, is extremely rare to find. I’ve only ever really seen this author succeed in making it feel right although admittedly I haven’t looked very hard.
This book was highly interactive to the point that it felt like playing a video game at times! I don’t want to talk too much about the details of the mechanics as half the fun is discovering how clever the whole system is, but the author clearly put a lot of work into crafting this book.
The book is really lighthearted. The humor is on point and it got me to chuckle a few times.
I give it less than 5 stars because the plot/world has some issues if you think about it too hard. Normally I care more about those things but experiencing the book was fun. ~4.5 or 4.75.
Really fun little choose your own adventure adjacent comic. Mechanically it is quite similar to Meanwhile. As far as I know this kind of comic, especially done well, is extremely rare to find. I’ve only ever really seen this author succeed in making it feel right although admittedly I haven’t looked very hard.
This book was highly interactive to the point that it felt like playing a video game at times! I don’t want to talk too much about the details of the mechanics as half the fun is discovering how clever the whole system is, but the author clearly put a lot of work into crafting this book.
The book is really lighthearted. The humor is on point and it got me to chuckle a few times.
I give it less than 5 stars because the plot/world has some issues if you think about it too hard. Normally I care more about those things but experiencing the book was fun. ~4.5 or 4.75.
saidtheraina's review
5.0
Jason Shiga is THE name in plot-your-own graphic novels. If anyone isn't familiar with his previous book, [b: Meanwhile|7229730|Meanwhile|Jason Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878248l/7229730._SX50_.jpg|8075007], I highly recommend checking it out.
You're a character on an island who needs to solve a quest. There are loops and maps, and tricky bits. It took me several sittings to solve it because I got stuck. This is not for the faint of heart!
Definitely recommend for upper elementary on up.
You're a character on an island who needs to solve a quest. There are loops and maps, and tricky bits. It took me several sittings to solve it because I got stuck. This is not for the faint of heart!
Definitely recommend for upper elementary on up.
heatherbermingham's review
4.0
I ordered this a while back, just because a choose your own adventure graphic novel seemed like something kids would like, but I finally picked one up to look at it and realized that it has a couple of other layers. Like most choose your own adventure books, you follow a path and occasionally have to make a choice, but there are a few spots in the story where you run into an empty box where there should be a page number. For example, at one point, you need to charter a boat. The captain tells you that it's a treacherous trip and asks if you even know how many ships have been lost in this particular ocean. And then instead of a box with a page number, there's an empty box and a panel where you respond that you don't know. He tells you, "Well, come back when you know then" and you have go go back through the narrative, find the answer, and make your way back to him. Then the answer you found (always a number) is the next page number and you can continue. But until you find that piece of information, that page - and therefore, the rest of the story - is closed off. It's very neat. It, as well as the layout of pages that are snippets of maps with page numbers representing the different paths you can choose from, reminded me of an old school Zelda game. I mean, to figure this out I was taking notes, drawing maps, and in one spot, even doing math.
I will admit that, as with early Zelda games, I eventually cheated. I'd probably recommend this for upper elementary/middle school kids - you can get stuck in a loop and it is frustrating! And the story itself is pretty thin. But the concept is super fun - I can't even imagine how much work it was for Shiga to get this laid this all out in a way that made sense - and for most kids, I think the experience will be interesting enough.
I will admit that, as with early Zelda games, I eventually cheated. I'd probably recommend this for upper elementary/middle school kids - you can get stuck in a loop and it is frustrating! And the story itself is pretty thin. But the concept is super fun - I can't even imagine how much work it was for Shiga to get this laid this all out in a way that made sense - and for most kids, I think the experience will be interesting enough.
yvesdot's review
5.0
Shiga's newest offering to the comics world, a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style medieval fantasy graphic novel, allows for hours of absorbing fun as the reader navigates puzzles, mazes, and clever design to defeat the legendary Leviathan. At its best Shiga has created a panacea for all those harried parents of video-game addicted children: this comic plays just like an RPG and is bound to feel as satisfying when completed.
mschlat's review
4.0
If you've read Shiga's [b:Meanwhile|7229730|Meanwhile|Jason Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878248l/7229730._SX50_.jpg|8075007], this is basically a "junior" edition of that book: it's a graphic novel with branching paths that you choose as you attempt to solve a puzzle that is the narrative heart of the story. However, Leviathan is 1) much shorter than Meanwhile, and 2) a lot easier to read while handling the choices (mainly because Shiga directs you to pages instead of using the tab-and-path mechanic in Meanwhile). I think both of these changes make for a much tighter and enjoyable work, and there's a nice twist in the delivery that is echoed in the storytelling.