Scan barcode
ogreart's review
3.0
More like a 3.5--It was a really intricately plotted story with some truly unique characters. Ellison did love to make his characters suffer and this book was no exception. It seemed a little "out of the 50's" to me. I know it was written later, but that was the feel I got. I will definitely be thinking about this one.
dgbellak's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
scholastic_squid's review
4.0
Space. Adventure. Black-holes. Science!
Read it, it is a great story and I hope to see more -- I am assuming there will be because they leave you with a cliff-hanger? The characters are unique and exciting, and have witty remarks and jokes. There is adult content to an extent, so if you haven't explained the birds & the bees you may want to, to your child. I do not believe there is crude language, but there are jokes that adults would understand, and some sexual images (no full-blown nudity though).
Discovering new worlds in this story was great, it truly brought out some interesting sci-fi. The images were fantastic, and the colors were great! The story takes place all over our galaxy, and the Earth is in trouble. The team of heroes is rounded up by a cloaked figure, to help the terrible fate of Earth. Someone or something is about to destroy it, people are experiencing spontaneous human combustion, or altering their physical appearance. The land as we know it on Earth is changing drastically and it appears as though time is out-of-sorts. Will these heroes fix what seems to be a scattered timeline? Read the novel to find out!
Read it, it is a great story and I hope to see more -- I am assuming there will be because they leave you with a cliff-hanger? The characters are unique and exciting, and have witty remarks and jokes. There is adult content to an extent, so if you haven't explained the birds & the bees you may want to, to your child. I do not believe there is crude language, but there are jokes that adults would understand, and some sexual images (no full-blown nudity though).
Discovering new worlds in this story was great, it truly brought out some interesting sci-fi. The images were fantastic, and the colors were great! The story takes place all over our galaxy, and the Earth is in trouble. The team of heroes is rounded up by a cloaked figure, to help the terrible fate of Earth. Someone or something is about to destroy it, people are experiencing spontaneous human combustion, or altering their physical appearance. The land as we know it on Earth is changing drastically and it appears as though time is out-of-sorts. Will these heroes fix what seems to be a scattered timeline? Read the novel to find out!
blevins's review
2.0
Read this graphic novel on lunch breaks as the great cover and the name Harlan Ellison pulled my interest to it. Loved the art actually as it has a retro sci-fi vibe to it that I enjoy. Robot, space craft, alien creatures, distant planets, that sort of thing. The story though, it's a combination of too many cliches and too all over the map for me to really get into past the surface enjoyment of the super colorful art.
otherwyrld's review
1.0
Take a giant of Science Fiction like Harlan Ellison, and ask him to write a standalone graphic novel with fan favourite artist of the Concrete stories Paul Chadwick, and what do you get? A story I can only describe as a total clunker.
I really can't understand what went wrong here, but this story has absolutely nothing going for it. The characters are old and tired, barely fleshed out caricatures that elicit no sympathy from me. There was one who got killed in the middle of the story and I couldn't even remember who he was, let alone feel anything for his death. The villain felt like he should have been twirling a moustache, but it's hard to draw a moustache on a giant snake and expect it to work.
The art felt like it came out of the 1970s and not in a good way either.The colouring had none of the subtlety that modern comics have, and the pages layouts at times was painful to look at. The plot showed traces of imagination, but it was dealt with in such a ham-fisted way that any interest was quickly stifled. The world-building was so rushed that it barely registered as such.
I felt that the book might have been better if it had been allowed to breathe, but here a story that needed a lot of space to make it work was crammed into a 200 page single book, and as a result was stifled before it really got going.
I really hate to give anything a 1 star rating, and I can understand why some people liked it, but for me this book is not so much old-fashioned as just old.
I really can't understand what went wrong here, but this story has absolutely nothing going for it. The characters are old and tired, barely fleshed out caricatures that elicit no sympathy from me. There was one who got killed in the middle of the story and I couldn't even remember who he was, let alone feel anything for his death. The villain felt like he should have been twirling a moustache, but it's hard to draw a moustache on a giant snake and expect it to work.
The art felt like it came out of the 1970s and not in a good way either.The colouring had none of the subtlety that modern comics have, and the pages layouts at times was painful to look at. The plot showed traces of imagination, but it was dealt with in such a ham-fisted way that any interest was quickly stifled. The world-building was so rushed that it barely registered as such.
I felt that the book might have been better if it had been allowed to breathe, but here a story that needed a lot of space to make it work was crammed into a 200 page single book, and as a result was stifled before it really got going.
I really hate to give anything a 1 star rating, and I can understand why some people liked it, but for me this book is not so much old-fashioned as just old.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
3.0
Harlan Ellison's 7 Against Chaos is a rare thing for me...a graphic novel. But, being the Ellison fan-girl that I am and having read the synopsis of the book sometime last year, I promptly put it on my Christmas wishlist, my own personal Santa came through, and I found it under the Christmas tree last December 25th. I was very excited that two of my category challenges called for a graphic novel, because I knew I had the very thing just waiting on the TBR pile.
Sometime in Earth's distant future, the planet is in danger--not just physical danger, but the very fabric of reality is being ripped apart. The elite call on once-decorated, but then disgraced General Roark to gather six others with special abilities to save them. With elaborate promises of rewards to come, Urr, the renegade robot; Mourna, the Amazon-like woman with steel claws for hands; Tantalus, the incredibly swift insect-man; Ayleen, a Venusian woman with quite literal fire-power; Hoorn, the stealthy and adept cat burglar; and Kenrus the brilliant, outcast technologist all agree to join Roark on a deadly journey to Earth's past on a mission to save its future.
As a graphic novel, the book is pleasing. It has an old-fashioned feel and reminds me of the comic books I used to buy when I was a preteen. I have a certain nostalgia for those stories--I would read everything from those with a science fiction feel to the mysterious and creepy (think Tales from the Crypt). I enjoyed those far more than most of the graphic novels I have tried in recent years. Paul Chadwick's artwork is fabulous.
The story, however, is a bit clunky. There are instances of Ellison's brilliance, but, as other reviewers on Goodreads have noted, there is a certain lack of continuity as if panels or even pages are missing. I'm not sure if that's a result of Ellison writing in short bursts for each panel or what. One can see the bones of a good story, but it is never completely covered with flesh and made whole. It begins with a bang--and I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of how Roark gathered his colleagues for the e journey. The trip through the black hole is well done and enjoyable as well and there are moments when the Seven face the villain of the piece that are quite good. Over all, a three star outing for an interesting story and great artwork. A more cohesive storyline would have brought up to four.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Sometime in Earth's distant future, the planet is in danger--not just physical danger, but the very fabric of reality is being ripped apart. The elite call on once-decorated, but then disgraced General Roark to gather six others with special abilities to save them. With elaborate promises of rewards to come, Urr, the renegade robot; Mourna, the Amazon-like woman with steel claws for hands; Tantalus, the incredibly swift insect-man; Ayleen, a Venusian woman with quite literal fire-power; Hoorn, the stealthy and adept cat burglar; and Kenrus the brilliant, outcast technologist all agree to join Roark on a deadly journey to Earth's past on a mission to save its future.
As a graphic novel, the book is pleasing. It has an old-fashioned feel and reminds me of the comic books I used to buy when I was a preteen. I have a certain nostalgia for those stories--I would read everything from those with a science fiction feel to the mysterious and creepy (think Tales from the Crypt). I enjoyed those far more than most of the graphic novels I have tried in recent years. Paul Chadwick's artwork is fabulous.
The story, however, is a bit clunky. There are instances of Ellison's brilliance, but, as other reviewers on Goodreads have noted, there is a certain lack of continuity as if panels or even pages are missing. I'm not sure if that's a result of Ellison writing in short bursts for each panel or what. One can see the bones of a good story, but it is never completely covered with flesh and made whole. It begins with a bang--and I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of how Roark gathered his colleagues for the e journey. The trip through the black hole is well done and enjoyable as well and there are moments when the Seven face the villain of the piece that are quite good. Over all, a three star outing for an interesting story and great artwork. A more cohesive storyline would have brought up to four.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
n8duke's review
2.0
I absolutely love Paul Chadwick. Unfortunately, this collaboration feels very out of place. Seems like it should've been published 50 years ago.
More...