You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Die, Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen

2 reviews

maybephasing's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thevampiremars's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would. Hans’s painterly art style is gorgeous and Gillen’s worldbuilding is fantastic. The meta aspects of the story are handled really well. The classes (Dictator, Neo, Godbinder, Grief Knight, Fool) are all really interesting, both mechanically and in terms of what they tell us about the characters.

Ash was already my favourite character, but “This is the point where, if this was a different kind of story, I’d come out with a simple answer” made me love her. It’s great to see a character who is definitely queer but whose queerness isn’t taxonomically categorised. I suspect her identity will be pinpointed later on, but I appreciate the angst-free ambiguity she exists in at this moment. You love to see it.

I do have a few complaints but they’re relatively minor and nitpicky. I felt this volume was a little too exposition-heavy, for example – a lot was explained via Ash’s narration rather than being shown and demonstrated. I needed more time to get to know the characters before the action started, and some characters (eg: Matt) were underused and sidelined.

But still, the things I like greatly outweigh any criticisms I may have. I will definitely be checking out the rest of the Die series.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings