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lgreensh's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
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
4.0
zare_i's review against another edition
5.0
This was a truly remarkable book, quite a discovery for me. I came across it while searching for some SF cyberpunkish novels and comics and after I saw gorgeous cover decision was made - lets see how good this is.
And man was it good! It was extraordinary.
So in order of things .... Story.... I saw a lots of comments saying story is already seen multiple times. I agree, it is, for pure reason it is story old as time - hubris brings our hero down and hero finds the way back through self-sacrifice and helping people around, goes through cathartic experience to finally come victorious against all odds.
Above is corner stone of every adventure story (including almost every hard-boiled detective novel). And lets be honest these types of stories provide, together with action and adventure, insight into society and internal dynamics (mercs, corporations, ordinary people etc) but if you read these types of books to gain knowledge about world around you ..... you are reading wrong literature.
So to say story is already seen is like saying - after reading Bible no other book offers anything new.
The way world of this novel is presented is truly magnificent - we are given view of the dystopian future where corporations control parts of the world (literally, not unlike crime gangs of today), charge people from other corporations daily fee for walking their streets, everyone from simple accountant and janitor to professional security forces are expected to live and die for their corporation (echoes of Morgan's "Market Forces" are strong here). Everything is shiny but people are kept in debt slavery because their augmentations require maintenance and money. When augmented mercs collide it is truly a slugfest, you can see how difficult it is to kill these cyborgs. Final showdown just screams "film me".
Technical parts of the story are so natural - you do not see cables or android like bodies that split up like in Total Recall. People look normal but beneath their skin mechanisms of enormous power are poised to strike out. Entire look and feel is combination of Robert Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series (with a bit of Thin Air in it) meshed with Nagata's Red trilogy and [of course] Gibson's Neuromancer. City is flashy and seductive (imagine Night City in all its splendor) but all this glitz only hides truly terrible and dystopian world, ruled by ruthless corporate managers, world where human life is not worth anything, there is no privacy and everyone is tracked, marked and charged. Hits a little bit to close to heart these days.
Art is mixed bag in a positive way. There is like 20 artists working on this story and as story progresses art styles switch. Now some of art styles are little bit tough on eyes imho but majority is great. From panoramas to interiors, level of details is breathtaking - there is always something going on (i.e. Arizona casino, those panels are truly overflowing with crowds, agents running through and drones searching for our protagonists in this sea of people). Entire look and feel is cinematic (why is that became clear to me after I heard this was supposed to be third movie in the series but decision was to create graphic novel instead of [I guess very] expensive production). Art style reminds me very much of Blade Runner 2029 series, just wonderful.
And the ending was hillarious - our heroes seek shelter from dystopian world by going to Canada. This had me laughing so hard I fell to the floor. They might as well decide to go to Australia
And man was it good! It was extraordinary.
So in order of things .... Story.... I saw a lots of comments saying story is already seen multiple times. I agree, it is, for pure reason it is story old as time - hubris brings our hero down and hero finds the way back through self-sacrifice and helping people around, goes through cathartic experience to finally come victorious against all odds.
Above is corner stone of every adventure story (including almost every hard-boiled detective novel). And lets be honest these types of stories provide, together with action and adventure, insight into society and internal dynamics (mercs, corporations, ordinary people etc) but if you read these types of books to gain knowledge about world around you ..... you are reading wrong literature.
So to say story is already seen is like saying - after reading Bible no other book offers anything new.
The way world of this novel is presented is truly magnificent - we are given view of the dystopian future where corporations control parts of the world (literally, not unlike crime gangs of today), charge people from other corporations daily fee for walking their streets, everyone from simple accountant and janitor to professional security forces are expected to live and die for their corporation (echoes of Morgan's "Market Forces" are strong here). Everything is shiny but people are kept in debt slavery because their augmentations require maintenance and money. When augmented mercs collide it is truly a slugfest, you can see how difficult it is to kill these cyborgs. Final showdown just screams "film me".
Technical parts of the story are so natural - you do not see cables or android like bodies that split up like in Total Recall. People look normal but beneath their skin mechanisms of enormous power are poised to strike out. Entire look and feel is combination of Robert Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series (with a bit of Thin Air in it) meshed with Nagata's Red trilogy and [of course] Gibson's Neuromancer. City is flashy and seductive (imagine Night City in all its splendor) but all this glitz only hides truly terrible and dystopian world, ruled by ruthless corporate managers, world where human life is not worth anything, there is no privacy and everyone is tracked, marked and charged. Hits a little bit to close to heart these days.
Art is mixed bag in a positive way. There is like 20 artists working on this story and as story progresses art styles switch. Now some of art styles are little bit tough on eyes imho but majority is great. From panoramas to interiors, level of details is breathtaking - there is always something going on (i.e. Arizona casino, those panels are truly overflowing with crowds, agents running through and drones searching for our protagonists in this sea of people). Entire look and feel is cinematic (why is that became clear to me after I heard this was supposed to be third movie in the series but decision was to create graphic novel instead of [I guess very] expensive production). Art style reminds me very much of Blade Runner 2029 series, just wonderful.
And the ending was hillarious - our heroes seek shelter from dystopian world by going to Canada. This had me laughing so hard I fell to the floor. They might as well decide to go to Australia
ssweeny's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Definitely a fun read. Classic cyberpunk setting that just exists in the background without taking up too much attention.
My only real complaint is that the art style changes a bit too drastically a bit too often, to the point where it can be hard to track which character is doing what between pages.
The overall arc is has been done before but there are some fun twists that completely make sense in the setting but that I haven't seen to often.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
mikime's review against another edition
4.0
In the distopian world of Duncan Jones' Mute and Moon, augmented mercenary Madi fights for her and her closest ones' freedom, by taking a job that involves a kid with very special abilities. She ends up deciding to help the kid, while a number of interested, unconscionable parties chase and attack them to get back the kid and his abilities. Allies turn into enemies and traitors, sometimes even against their own will, as the corporations in charge use augmented technology to gain back power over their "goods". A fast-paced adventure, perfectly matched by the amazing visual art, that features quite a lot of renowned artists, and changes for each chapter and each part of the story. This graphic novel was funded through a kickstarter project, proud for backing it.
matos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
whimpulse's review against another edition
4.0
A solid story with a nice cyberpunkesque milieu, compelling characters and great art. In a way I liked seeing the art style change every dozen or so pages, but sometimes it did throw me off for a moment - some minor characters were kind of hard to instantly recognize after a style change that changed how they felt to me overall, personality-wise. The vibes were off, sometimes.
I was having a hard time deciding between 3 and 4 stars. On one hand, this is very relevant to my intetrests - I love cyberpunk settings, and the thoroughly modified, debt-ridden remote-controlled mercs earned both my admiration and sympathy easily. But in some ways I feel like there was some potential wasted - it was fun to see all the different art styles, but it did take away from the coherency of it all. It's only "surprisingly good for what it is", not great from start to finish. And while I did like everything from the story to the characters and setting, it's all very generic. Just good, not unique. I enjoyed it, but wasn't thoroughly impressed by it.
In a way, my feelings toward this book remind me of watching Mad Max: Fury Road. It's not super deep or complex as as a story, but what it sets out to do it does well. An entertaining read that leaves some ideas and impressions that I can further tinker with at the back of my mind even after finishing the book itself, which didn't take that long.
Still, I'm a sucker for the cyberpunk themes and aesthetic. I reeeaaaally enjoyed some moments and the particularly pretty pages in here. Giving it 4 stars, since I did have a hard time putting the book time once I finally got into it (took me a few weeks to get started).
I was having a hard time deciding between 3 and 4 stars. On one hand, this is very relevant to my intetrests - I love cyberpunk settings, and the thoroughly modified, debt-ridden remote-controlled mercs earned both my admiration and sympathy easily. But in some ways I feel like there was some potential wasted - it was fun to see all the different art styles, but it did take away from the coherency of it all. It's only "surprisingly good for what it is", not great from start to finish. And while I did like everything from the story to the characters and setting, it's all very generic. Just good, not unique. I enjoyed it, but wasn't thoroughly impressed by it.
In a way, my feelings toward this book remind me of watching Mad Max: Fury Road. It's not super deep or complex as as a story, but what it sets out to do it does well. An entertaining read that leaves some ideas and impressions that I can further tinker with at the back of my mind even after finishing the book itself, which didn't take that long.
Still, I'm a sucker for the cyberpunk themes and aesthetic. I reeeaaaally enjoyed some moments and the particularly pretty pages in here. Giving it 4 stars, since I did have a hard time putting the book time once I finally got into it (took me a few weeks to get started).
lyrafay12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
jhstack's review against another edition
3.0
Interested tech-modded soldiers for hire far-flung future story from Alex Di Campi and Duncan Jones ('Moon' and 'Source Code'), but the changing artists disrupted my reading experience and I was left wondering if the changes were related to the plot or not.