Reviews

Court of the Dead: The Chronicle of the Underworld by Landry Q. Walker, Sideshow Collectibles, Corinna Bechko, Tom Gilliland

geekwayne's review against another edition

3.0

'Court of the Dead: The Chronicle of the Underworld' by Tom Gilliland, Landry Q. Walker, Corrina Sara Bechko and Sideshow Collectibles is an imaginary tour through the Underworld with an official and unofficial tour guide.

Welcome to the world of the dead. Fortunately for you, you've got someone to fill you in on how things work. Death is in charge, but he has a whole court of beings under him. Splitting things up more are the official factions of bone, flesh and spirit. There are also unofficial factions, so caution is needed. The type of soldiers who fight for death and their most famous members are described. Along for the ride is skeptical Malavestros, who is willing to try to clue you in to the real truth.

This feels a bit like a worldbuilding book for a D&D campaign. The art is pretty good, but it is lacking in a narrative structure if that is what you are looking for. There is some good writing along the way, though.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Insight Editions and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

amybraunauthor's review against another edition

5.0

I knew when I bought that this book that it would be unlike anything I've ever read. And I was right. This book is utterly unique. I can't tell you the story, because there isn't really one. I can't tell you much about the characters, because there isn't much by way of their appearances in a traditional "story" sense. But what I can tell you is that this is one of the darkest, most absorbing worlds I've ever read. Almost everything you could imagine was covered in this book, from mythology and history to war stories and fashion. Every page was unique and brilliant and I wondered what I would learn next. I truly felt like a traveler in this haunting world and couldn't get enough of their varied factions. Most importantly, the illustrations were STUNNING. Gruesome and creepy, yes, but still so so beautiful and detailed. I spent minutes just gawking at the impressive detail and creativity of every character, building, and weapon. I absolutely loved this book and cannot recommend it to horror and goth fans enough.

ljrinaldi's review against another edition

3.0

This is an odd book. It proports to be a guide to the land of the dead, and goes into great detail about what you will find there.

There is no plot. There is just a guide telling the reader what they will find int he land of the dead, as well, as what to watch out for, and what factions to avoid. This reminds me a bit of the guides that came out in the 1980s that told the true information about the land of fairies.

So lavishly illustrated, and lots of "research", but I got bored, and stopped caring.

Not sure who this book would be for, unless they wanted to find out the author's view on what the afterlife was.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

jmanchester0's review against another edition

4.0

This guidebook; this description of the realm of the dead is fascinating. The art is weird, ugly, and beautiful.

The stories and descriptions the inhabitants and worlds are really intriguing.

And the maps! I love maps. And these are fantastic.

But who would I recommend this to? Anyone who loves fantasy art, as long as it‰ЫЄs a bit dark.

And I really think that this would make a great resource for role-playing.

It‰ЫЄs a great coffee table book, IMO. But I guess that depends on what kind of guests you have!

Check it out if it‰ЫЄs your cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley and Insight Editions for a copy in return for an honest review.