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caitcoy's review against another edition
2.0
The Coldest City is a tense, spy thriller set in Cold War era Berlin right as the Berlin Wall comes down. an undercover MI6 agent carrying an incredibly important document is killed during a riot and since that document contains the name of every single spy in Berlin, MI6 is determined to get their hands on it. To that end, they send in veteran agent Lorraine Broughton to figure out who killed him and to get her hands on that list at all costs. Lorraine must navigate a world of double and triple agents, Western and Communist governments and many more dangers to get to her goal but she is not a woman used to failure.
The Coldest City is a bit difficult to rate. Particularly at the beginning, the pacing of the story is tense and it's impossible to know who's really out to help Lorraine and who just wants to gain her trust in order to remove her from the picture. The minimalist style of Sam Hart's illustration does a fantastic job of using light and shadow to create an aura of mystery, cold and intense danger that immediately drew me in. Unfortunately, that same style made the last half of the book confusing as hell. The story relies upon remembering which character is which, a task made much more difficult by the lack of detail in the artwork. It took reading the ending several times to get even a vague idea of what the hell happened. The story reminded me very much of one of my favorite movies, so much so that I think naming the movie counts as a spoiler since you'll be expecting that twist. The story is well written but I definitely got frustrated with the handling of the ending because the confusion of it made it hard to feel satisfied at the end. The fact that I read Velvet on the same evening probably didn't help since I enjoyed that story significantly more.
Overall, Coldest City is worth reading and the mood of it is skillfully done in both writing and illustrations but I wouldn't count it as a personal favorite.
The Coldest City is a bit difficult to rate. Particularly at the beginning, the pacing of the story is tense and it's impossible to know who's really out to help Lorraine and who just wants to gain her trust in order to remove her from the picture. The minimalist style of Sam Hart's illustration does a fantastic job of using light and shadow to create an aura of mystery, cold and intense danger that immediately drew me in. Unfortunately, that same style made the last half of the book confusing as hell. The story relies upon remembering which character is which, a task made much more difficult by the lack of detail in the artwork. It took reading the ending several times to get even a vague idea of what the hell happened. The story reminded me very much of one of my favorite movies
Spoiler
The Usual SuspectsOverall, Coldest City is worth reading and the mood of it is skillfully done in both writing and illustrations but I wouldn't count it as a personal favorite.
categal's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun romp through Berlin in the spy world before the wall came down. The movie Atomic Blonde was based off of it, and some things the movie did better. What was hard for me was the drawings rendered so many of the male characters indistinguishable to me. That is a hindrance when trying to follow double-crossing, triple-crossing, moles, agents, and bad guys. A lot of guys. Who are they all? Huh, just take the ride. Maybe.
juniore25's review against another edition
Found this graphic novel just sitting on the living room.
My roommate had just got a copy of it. Read it in one go.
As soon as I see him, I tell him about it. He explains
"You know they adapted this into Atomic Blonde?"
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I definitely want to see this very noir/espionage-thriller turned into a colorful cotton-candy look action packed Atomic Blonde.
My roommate had just got a copy of it. Read it in one go.
As soon as I see him, I tell him about it. He explains
"You know they adapted this into Atomic Blonde?"
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I definitely want to see this very noir/espionage-thriller turned into a colorful cotton-candy look action packed Atomic Blonde.
bookshelfbybub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The story was entertaining. However, I wish the conflict had more of a personal stake for the main character beyond her interests as a spy. Sometimes it felt like it lacked the human element.
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
4.0
There are a lot of characters introduced quickly in conversation and then forever after mentioned casually by last name or spy handle only - some of whom you've heard about but never seen. For that reason, you must read very closely to follow what's otherwise a total pulp genre novel in comics form. Also it seems totally unrealistic that the character who ***SPOILER ALERT***
is supposedly the only NEW person to the entire "theater" as they say, is actually the mastermind. It's both a bit obvious and a bit - I forget which detective, but I think Sherlock Holmes, - trope in that's the culprit is like, person X you could never possibly have known. So.
Otherwise, enjoyable, strong, brief. Read it.
is supposedly the only NEW person to the entire "theater" as they say, is actually the mastermind. It's both a bit obvious and a bit - I forget which detective, but I think Sherlock Holmes, - trope in that's the culprit is like, person X you could never possibly have known. So.
Otherwise, enjoyable, strong, brief. Read it.
stephyyy040's review against another edition
1.0
Wanted to enjoy, but I found it impossible to keep characters straight. Even after completing it, I’m still not sure who any of the code names were.
heritage's review against another edition
3.0
November, 1989. Just days before the fall of the Berlin Wall, MI6's number 2 man in Berlin has been murdered, ostensibly because he had just received a list to end all lists. But British Intelligence doesn't trust anyone, let alone their number 1 man there. They decide to send in an experienced yet unrelated officer to uncover what's really going on.
This is my first graphic novel. I must admit, the format threw me a bit, so I had to go through it twice. Overall, it seems to be a fine format for straight-forward action, but not well-suited to twists and turns and multiple characters or narrators. Either that, or the writer and illustrator didn't do their job well enough. It's just a little too difficult to distinguish characters without the benefits of narrative (like in a novel) or with voices (like in a movie).
Having said that, it's a fairly interesting story, and it goes by quickly. Not character-driven by any means, but decent enough. Lots of twists--and that may be the problem. Once we get to the end, it seems like it all boils down to a plot twist looking for a backstory. It's rather unsatisfying for its lack of any depth, yet it was an interesting experience.
I probably won't read anything else by this author as I wasn't sufficiently impressed with this particular one, but the soon-to-be-released movie (starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy), if done well, could right so many wrongs that it may be worthwhile seeing.
For people wondering about the quality of the story, I'd say it's more Deighton than it is le Carré.
Two issues I had with the story are:
2. That's a HUGE coincidence that Lorraine was the one chosen to go to Berlin.
This is my first graphic novel. I must admit, the format threw me a bit, so I had to go through it twice. Overall, it seems to be a fine format for straight-forward action, but not well-suited to twists and turns and multiple characters or narrators. Either that, or the writer and illustrator didn't do their job well enough. It's just a little too difficult to distinguish characters without the benefits of narrative (like in a novel) or with voices (like in a movie).
Having said that, it's a fairly interesting story, and it goes by quickly. Not character-driven by any means, but decent enough. Lots of twists--and that may be the problem. Once we get to the end, it seems like it all boils down to a plot twist looking for a backstory. It's rather unsatisfying for its lack of any depth, yet it was an interesting experience.
I probably won't read anything else by this author as I wasn't sufficiently impressed with this particular one, but the soon-to-be-released movie (starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy), if done well, could right so many wrongs that it may be worthwhile seeing.
For people wondering about the quality of the story, I'd say it's more Deighton than it is le Carré.
Two issues I had with the story are:
Spoiler
1. We can surmise who killed Ber-2, but the author doesn't give even a reliable hint. It's up to the reader to do the author's work. One clue would've been nice.2. That's a HUGE coincidence that Lorraine was the one chosen to go to Berlin.
alternbruno's review against another edition
2.0
It is not hideous, but the movie is insanely good compared with this one.