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geekwayne's review
3.0
'Hammerfall 1. While the Serpent Sleeps' by Sylvain Runberg with art by Boris Talijancic is a graphic novel about Vikings and Normans and captivity.
Harald has a good life. He is the village leader's son and he is about to get married to Lina. While the festivities are going on, the village is attacked and everyone is either killed or taken captive by Bjorn the Beautiful. Harald watches helplessly as Lina is taken by Bjorn. All he can do now is bide his time and wait for a chance to free them both.
I liked the idea of this graphic novel. The art was good, but confusing. I had a hard time telling the male characters apart. I also wished there had been a little more exposition about the scene at the very beginning. I liked the story, but felt like it could have been a bit stronger.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Harald has a good life. He is the village leader's son and he is about to get married to Lina. While the festivities are going on, the village is attacked and everyone is either killed or taken captive by Bjorn the Beautiful. Harald watches helplessly as Lina is taken by Bjorn. All he can do now is bide his time and wait for a chance to free them both.
I liked the idea of this graphic novel. The art was good, but confusing. I had a hard time telling the male characters apart. I also wished there had been a little more exposition about the scene at the very beginning. I liked the story, but felt like it could have been a bit stronger.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
ellelainey's review
3.0
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
While the Serpent Sleeps (Hammerfall #1) by Sylvain Runberg
★★★☆☆
66 Pages
Content Warning: threats of rape, ransacking, blood/violence/gore, sex scenes/nudity
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one for the simple fact that it was so short, but there was a heck of a lot of story told in those few pages.
To start with, I had a real problem with the formatting, because the creators chose a historically-fitting font, which at times was really hard on the eyes. In paperback, or on a laptop, it would probably be big enough to not be a problem. But on a tablet, some of the text on the cream background were really hard to make out, and there were about 3 pages at the end where the text was actually a little blurry. I'm not sure if that was just my copy, like a glitch, or if that was a problem with the combination of text and colour background. Either way, it made it hard to read.
I'm a big fan of anything Viking-related, and I know their reputation, so I was prepared for the immediate thrust into action, the violence, even the threats of rape towards the women captors. However, it was refreshing to see that none of that appeared on page. Sure, there were a few sex scenes and some nudity, which means it's stuck in a certain age bracket, but they weren't excessive and were wholly consensual.
I'll admit, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Probably because we didn't get very far into the story. At the end of these 66 pages, we have the storyteller – the POV – as a captive, about to arrive and be bargained off to another clan/people. However, the blurb implies that Harald is the one who is patient and biding his time, yet he's quite impetuous in this volume. Not really the patient sort. Its his brother that keeps him calm and compliant, while Harald would go blazing in for revenge. So, because of that, I'm really not sure where the story is going or how long it's going to take to get there.
At the moment, I haven't been inspired to seek out the next volume and read it. With the difficult font, the jumpy flashbacks and back-stories, I'm really not sure that I'm prepared to pick up the next volume. We'll see.
Copy received through Netgalley
~
While the Serpent Sleeps (Hammerfall #1) by Sylvain Runberg
★★★☆☆
66 Pages
Content Warning: threats of rape, ransacking, blood/violence/gore, sex scenes/nudity
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one for the simple fact that it was so short, but there was a heck of a lot of story told in those few pages.
To start with, I had a real problem with the formatting, because the creators chose a historically-fitting font, which at times was really hard on the eyes. In paperback, or on a laptop, it would probably be big enough to not be a problem. But on a tablet, some of the text on the cream background were really hard to make out, and there were about 3 pages at the end where the text was actually a little blurry. I'm not sure if that was just my copy, like a glitch, or if that was a problem with the combination of text and colour background. Either way, it made it hard to read.
I'm a big fan of anything Viking-related, and I know their reputation, so I was prepared for the immediate thrust into action, the violence, even the threats of rape towards the women captors. However, it was refreshing to see that none of that appeared on page. Sure, there were a few sex scenes and some nudity, which means it's stuck in a certain age bracket, but they weren't excessive and were wholly consensual.
I'll admit, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Probably because we didn't get very far into the story. At the end of these 66 pages, we have the storyteller – the POV – as a captive, about to arrive and be bargained off to another clan/people. However, the blurb implies that Harald is the one who is patient and biding his time, yet he's quite impetuous in this volume. Not really the patient sort. Its his brother that keeps him calm and compliant, while Harald would go blazing in for revenge. So, because of that, I'm really not sure where the story is going or how long it's going to take to get there.
At the moment, I haven't been inspired to seek out the next volume and read it. With the difficult font, the jumpy flashbacks and back-stories, I'm really not sure that I'm prepared to pick up the next volume. We'll see.
kybermoons's review
3.0
ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review:
The story follows that of a young Viking named Harald and his clan with the main protagonist being exiled "Bjorn the Beautiful.". The book definitely felt like it was only the beginnings of a long series; with world building and introduction to characters, however it held a high standard of interest throughout. Visually the illustrations were well done and gave a very 9th century Scandinavian feel..
Overall I would likely read the second installment as this left off on a cliff hanger, and I am interested to see where the story goes from here.
The story follows that of a young Viking named Harald and his clan with the main protagonist being exiled "Bjorn the Beautiful.". The book definitely felt like it was only the beginnings of a long series; with world building and introduction to characters, however it held a high standard of interest throughout. Visually the illustrations were well done and gave a very 9th century Scandinavian feel..
Overall I would likely read the second installment as this left off on a cliff hanger, and I am interested to see where the story goes from here.
kfanni28's review
3.0
Usually I can get it right, really. I pick and start books that I end up liking.
I started optimistic, because I used to love the show 'Vikings' and this brought me back to that.
There's a glossary at the front which is great! A full handy page of explanations for example the naming of people, lands and gods, which I enjoy because of my fascination with Norse mythology.
We're in 8th century Europe, with the svears (swedes (vikings), as they came to be called later) raiding a monastery at the coast of Northumberland (England). This attack was the beginning of a long and gory war between the Angles and the Norsemen.
The story continues in the land of the svears, where young Harald is to be wed to the beautiful Lina at the Jul celeration. Before the wedding could take place, the banished warrior Björn attacks the town with his men, kills Harald's father and takes the others as slaves.
This one was not for me but simply because for some reason the art style as a whole didn't win me. But what I can say is, there's a lot of action scenes, and I liked the use of colors.
I started optimistic, because I used to love the show 'Vikings' and this brought me back to that.
There's a glossary at the front which is great! A full handy page of explanations for example the naming of people, lands and gods, which I enjoy because of my fascination with Norse mythology.
We're in 8th century Europe, with the svears (swedes (vikings), as they came to be called later) raiding a monastery at the coast of Northumberland (England). This attack was the beginning of a long and gory war between the Angles and the Norsemen.
The story continues in the land of the svears, where young Harald is to be wed to the beautiful Lina at the Jul celeration. Before the wedding could take place, the banished warrior Björn attacks the town with his men, kills Harald's father and takes the others as slaves.
This one was not for me but simply because for some reason the art style as a whole didn't win me. But what I can say is, there's a lot of action scenes, and I liked the use of colors.
remembered_reads's review
4.0
Hammerfall is the first volume in a tale of 8th-century Viking raids and religious shifts, and contains all the set pieces one expects from such a setting. The book opens with a battle sequence followed by a chase scene, and the action continues with only a few breaks for a wedding night bookended with two short scenes of exposition via dialogue.
The art is wonderful. Both the motion conveyed in the action sequences and the detail in the "wide-angle" panels are equally detailed and well-rendered. There's a panel with several men on horseback at the top of a cliff looking down on a snow-covered valley and another of a carriage falling through ice that are absolutely stunning work.
The translation by Tom Imber avoids a common issue in BD translations and manages to capture the feel of the original without leaning too far into the melodramatic.
An entertaining romp!
The edition I read was an e-ARC via NetGalley.
The art is wonderful. Both the motion conveyed in the action sequences and the detail in the "wide-angle" panels are equally detailed and well-rendered. There's a panel with several men on horseback at the top of a cliff looking down on a snow-covered valley and another of a carriage falling through ice that are absolutely stunning work.
The translation by Tom Imber avoids a common issue in BD translations and manages to capture the feel of the original without leaning too far into the melodramatic.
An entertaining romp!
The edition I read was an e-ARC via NetGalley.
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