Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Cosmoknights: Book One

First things first, the artwork is gorgeous. The colour palettes, the character designs, the cosmoknights’ power armour, the backgrounds – it’s all just spot-on. Even the sound effects are well-integrated. The pacing is rather brisk for the most part but quiet/tense moments are allowed to breathe.
I don’t have too much to say about the story because honestly it’s quite simple. I worried the feminist critique was a little too simplistic and bordering on naïve, but Kate came along to say exactly what I was thinking:

the protagonists’ intentions are noble but by participating in the games they’re only ever operating within the patriarchal system rather than dismantling the system altogether for true liberation.

Like YES thank you! I’m glad (and surprised!) that point was brought up and I’m curious to see how the story develops from here.

This is very much the first book in a series. It does a great job of establishing the world and the characters but there isn’t a whole lot of payoff in this volume. It’s setting up for a sequel, which I look forward to reading when it comes out.

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emily_mh's review

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book drove home to me how much I love neo-medieval sci-fi. The way Templer put a futuristic twist on historical concepts such as knights and jousts was so incredibly entertaining and made for some really unique world-building. I loved the rebellion-themed plot as well. The art style was gorgeous, including the lettering which just looked really... satisfying?? On top of all of this, it was wonderfully sapphic. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

original review: 5 stars. fav genre, gays in space. the most beautiful graphic novel i've ever read. the colors. once, i turned the page and my jaw dropped at how pretty the colors were. Hannah Templer must have access to colors that no other artist does. ends on a slight cliffhanger but i didn't find it unsatisfying at all (psa for those did: the sequel is currently being published in installments as a webcomic at cosmoknights.space)

updated review: 4.75 stars. still love it and it pains me to appreciate it even slightly less on a reread (that always happens though, in my experience), but, like, there are some unexplained plot holes:

how is this princess-freeing duo not under investigation at the request of the rich and powerful royal families whose daughters go missing any time Bull wins? fool me once, shame on you, etc… also, why, if Kate Rose is on the fuck-the-patriarchy side, did she shoot at them? couldn’t she have approached them like anyone else at the bar and been like “i’m a fan of your work, let’s talk”?

maybe the sequel (which i’m preparing to read) explains these more

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