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inthebelljar's review
3.0
Honestly, I think a huge part of this being 3 stars for me is because I had very high expectations. Sentient has been recommended by multiple reviewers and the AIs-with-feelings is one of my favorite tropes of all time, especially if that AI isn't necessarily supposed to have feelings. So, upon finishing this graphic novel, I think I most of all just felt...underwhelmed. This is a short graphic novel - only 160 pages with no sequel - and it ultimately felt like I was getting snippets from a larger, more moving story.
The ship's AI, Val, was super endearing. I liked her a lot and I actually was super interested in how her initial reaction to being left alone to take care of the kids was panic - I don't feel like most AIs in sci fi get a chance to be uncertain, and it felt warranted in this case. Another thing I found interesting was that she wasn't made to be taking care of children, and at times this showed. For example, when Val parrots back things that she heard the parents say to their children before they were killed. Lil, the oldest of the kids and one of the main characters, points this out and tells her to stop - leading to Val speaking to her more stiffly, more formally, more like she's an adult. Like Val was still struggling to be a more human-like mom to these children if she wasn't parroting what she had heard before. I only wish that these sorts of things were explored more.
Which is a big complaint I felt overall - great ideas, but very little exploration of them. I felt like I kept being told how much Val had changed, but we as the readers only really see a handful of scenes of how Val was before there's a timeskip and the children and her are settled into a routine and she's taken on a very mom-like persona. I'm told that this is wildly different and that she has changed so much but I barely knew Val as a character before this happened, which really flattened any effect this could have had.
Same with the children; obviously, the events that occur have traumatized them and having to run a ship without any adults when all of them are age 10 or younger made them grow up fast but I rarely saw any evidence of this. They fight, they argue, they cry about things that have happened but ultimately they still are literal children doing adult jobs with no problem, defending their ship and keeping things running smoothly. The kids didn't feel very child-like to me besides a few ridiculous arguments that felt like okay, yeah, I guess kids would argue about these things because they're children, but not much beyond that. Yes, it's unfair and tragic they lost their childhood to these events but I never really....bought it? I didn't get attached to the kids, either. There's really only focus on two of them throughout the whole graphic novel despite this being a large group and even then I felt like the two main children only had maybe two traits each - the boy is timid and sad, the girl is angry and defiant.
Again, I felt like the narration kept telling me how traumatizing and important and life-changing these events were but I witnessed very little of it as a reader. I could probably go on for longer but I feel like all of my complaints go back to "I wanted more and I was so underwhelmed." The art was great, I enjoyed the style and the looks of things. I liked the ideas and themes. Val was interesting at times. But I just felt mostly disappointed by this title and felt like I had read the same themes in sci fi, done better, many times before.
The ship's AI, Val, was super endearing. I liked her a lot and I actually was super interested in how her initial reaction to being left alone to take care of the kids was panic - I don't feel like most AIs in sci fi get a chance to be uncertain, and it felt warranted in this case. Another thing I found interesting was that she wasn't made to be taking care of children, and at times this showed. For example, when Val parrots back things that she heard the parents say to their children before they were killed. Lil, the oldest of the kids and one of the main characters, points this out and tells her to stop - leading to Val speaking to her more stiffly, more formally, more like she's an adult. Like Val was still struggling to be a more human-like mom to these children if she wasn't parroting what she had heard before. I only wish that these sorts of things were explored more.
Which is a big complaint I felt overall - great ideas, but very little exploration of them. I felt like I kept being told how much Val had changed, but we as the readers only really see a handful of scenes of how Val was before there's a timeskip and the children and her are settled into a routine and she's taken on a very mom-like persona. I'm told that this is wildly different and that she has changed so much but I barely knew Val as a character before this happened, which really flattened any effect this could have had.
Same with the children; obviously, the events that occur have traumatized them and having to run a ship without any adults when all of them are age 10 or younger made them grow up fast but I rarely saw any evidence of this. They fight, they argue, they cry about things that have happened but ultimately they still are literal children doing adult jobs with no problem, defending their ship and keeping things running smoothly. The kids didn't feel very child-like to me besides a few ridiculous arguments that felt like okay, yeah, I guess kids would argue about these things because they're children, but not much beyond that. Yes, it's unfair and tragic they lost their childhood to these events but I never really....bought it? I didn't get attached to the kids, either. There's really only focus on two of them throughout the whole graphic novel despite this being a large group and even then I felt like the two main children only had maybe two traits each - the boy is timid and sad, the girl is angry and defiant.
Again, I felt like the narration kept telling me how traumatizing and important and life-changing these events were but I witnessed very little of it as a reader. I could probably go on for longer but I feel like all of my complaints go back to "I wanted more and I was so underwhelmed." The art was great, I enjoyed the style and the looks of things. I liked the ideas and themes. Val was interesting at times. But I just felt mostly disappointed by this title and felt like I had read the same themes in sci fi, done better, many times before.
fjordic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fascinating look into space travel and AIs. There is a lot more to explore here but this is a well scoped story.
Cawpile review:
Characters 4
Atmosphere/art 4
Writing/lettering 4
Plot 4
Intrigue 4
Logic/credibility 4
Enjoyment 4
Score 28, 4 out of 5 stars
https://bookriot.com/the-cawpile-review-system/
Cawpile review:
Characters 4
Atmosphere/art 4
Writing/lettering 4
Plot 4
Intrigue 4
Logic/credibility 4
Enjoyment 4
Score 28, 4 out of 5 stars
https://bookriot.com/the-cawpile-review-system/
jueet's review
4.0
¿Por qué los cómics tienen que ser tan cortos? Es una premisa interesante, sin embargo, siento que hacen faltas más capítulos para entender la relación entre los niños y Val.
kitsuneheart's review against another edition
5.0
Things gaining sentience is definitely in my wheelhouse. This time, it's a whole colony ship, and while it is overseen by a crew of adult humans, the ship suddenly finds itself at the top of the chain of command when every adult is murdered, leaving the ship alone to care for the crews small children.
If the ship sticks to its programming, no one can tell it to do the things that help the children survive. So...it's time to bypass the programming.
The narrator of the story isn't actually the ship, but is instead one of the surviving children. The one most vilified by the others: the son of the mutineer. The story seems to be told from far in the future, when he's an old man, so readers do have some faith that the children (or at least one of them...) will survive. But he also speaks a bit obliquely around things, referencing events from far in the future, instead of in the immediate moment of the comic, which can add some tension to the plot. There's one instance where this feels cheap, but not enough for me to be too disappointed. Once ain't bad.
The book ends with plenty of plot left to resolve and plenty of peril ahead, but...there's been no issue 7 released. So let's hope this isn't all over, and that the trade release will give enough of a boost for at least another half-year run, to wrap things up!
If the ship sticks to its programming, no one can tell it to do the things that help the children survive. So...it's time to bypass the programming.
The narrator of the story isn't actually the ship, but is instead one of the surviving children. The one most vilified by the others: the son of the mutineer. The story seems to be told from far in the future, when he's an old man, so readers do have some faith that the children (or at least one of them...) will survive. But he also speaks a bit obliquely around things, referencing events from far in the future, instead of in the immediate moment of the comic, which can add some tension to the plot. There's one instance where this feels cheap, but not enough for me to be too disappointed. Once ain't bad.
The book ends with plenty of plot left to resolve and plenty of peril ahead, but...there's been no issue 7 released. So let's hope this isn't all over, and that the trade release will give enough of a boost for at least another half-year run, to wrap things up!
madelinesedai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Gun violence
thebigness's review
3.0
This was a fun read but it suffers a pacing issue that I find prevalent in a lot of media today. It tries to accomplish too much in too short of a time. Movies, TV, comics, etc. they're all on this race to the finish line. Let the story breathe a little. This is a fun idea and a fun story and it is over in the blink of an eye.
karu_fernandez's review against another edition
3.0
Para ser de esas historias que necesitan deshacerse de lxs adultxs para que lxs niñxs sean lxs protagonistas, esta es un poco fuertecita desde el principio.
La verdad es que la historia me gustó, pero siento que termina todo tan a las apuradas que quizás me hubiera gustado que fuera mucho más extensa. La resolución me dejó medio como "¿Y?". El otro problema que veo es que no termino de conocer a los personajes más allá de uno o dos rasgos muy característicos. Acá, encima, eso solo ocurre con lxs protagonistas y el resto queda como un fondito del que sé poco y ni siquiera llegan a importarme.
Le pondría un 3.5 porque de verdad es una buena historia y me dejó con ganas de más profundidad.
La verdad es que la historia me gustó, pero siento que termina todo tan a las apuradas que quizás me hubiera gustado que fuera mucho más extensa. La resolución me dejó medio como "¿Y?". El otro problema que veo es que no termino de conocer a los personajes más allá de uno o dos rasgos muy característicos. Acá, encima, eso solo ocurre con lxs protagonistas y el resto queda como un fondito del que sé poco y ni siquiera llegan a importarme.
Le pondría un 3.5 porque de verdad es una buena historia y me dejó con ganas de más profundidad.