Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This first volume of Autumnlands boasts a brilliantly realized fantasy world brimming with fully realized, authentic characters, well explored morality issues, compelling and pace-quickening adventure, incredible art, and a dour cliffhanger. Army of Darkness by way of Redwall, A Song of Ice and Fire, and Dungeons and Dragons.
What's not to love?
What's not to love?
What a fun fantasy. The art is lovely. The people of this world have evolved as humanoid animals for, at this point, unknown reasons, and the artist captures their expressions beautifully. I enjoyed the plot, and I look forward to reading more.
I enjoyed reading this first installment of The Autumnlands, though it didn't excite me so much. Now I'm trying to decide why that is.
First the good: I like the world of this book. The whole way through, I felt like I was glimpsing into a very rich world, which was at once real and messy, and mythical and grand.
I also liked the presentation of the book. The artwork is good, with all characters being distinct and full of character. Same with the landscapes - the visual design is part of what makes it all come alive.
But then, there's the not-quite-as-good. The storytelling is fine, I guess, but I found it difficult to engage with. It's not very clear to me what is actually at stake in the story, and what the conflict is all about. There's a common problem, and from there on out, it seems to be all egos getting in the way for each other.
Except that our main characters don't have any egos. The viewpoint character is mainly characterized by his excitement and his willingness to help others. Meanwhile, the two other main sympathetic characters seem to do mostly the right things for the right reasons, and are only thwarted because of selfish and narrow-minded people.
Tooth and Claw was entertaining, and the world is one I wouldn't mind exploring some more. I may well seek out the second volume if it is available in the library. I'm not exactly quivering with anticipation to find out what happens, however.
First the good: I like the world of this book. The whole way through, I felt like I was glimpsing into a very rich world, which was at once real and messy, and mythical and grand.
I also liked the presentation of the book. The artwork is good, with all characters being distinct and full of character. Same with the landscapes - the visual design is part of what makes it all come alive.
But then, there's the not-quite-as-good. The storytelling is fine, I guess, but I found it difficult to engage with. It's not very clear to me what is actually at stake in the story, and what the conflict is all about. There's a common problem, and from there on out, it seems to be all egos getting in the way for each other.
Except that our main characters don't have any egos. The viewpoint character is mainly characterized by his excitement and his willingness to help others. Meanwhile, the two other main sympathetic characters seem to do mostly the right things for the right reasons, and are only thwarted because of selfish and narrow-minded people.
Tooth and Claw was entertaining, and the world is one I wouldn't mind exploring some more. I may well seek out the second volume if it is available in the library. I'm not exactly quivering with anticipation to find out what happens, however.
Hmm, not sure how I feel about this one. I enjoyed the reading experience okay, and I want to check out the next volume, but it's not a new favourite or anything (which is a shame because I loveedd Busiek's [b:Marvels|16982|Marvels|Kurt Busiek|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388285617s/16982.jpg|265304]).
My boyfriend read this too and he really liked it - I picked his brain about why that was and his answer really hit the nail on the head on why it worked for him and not so much for me: this book invokes a lot of nostalgia for Fantasy/Sci-Fi from the 1970s-80s. He grew up in the 80s and was basically raised on the stuff, but I'm a 90s baby and missed it, so this type of world/story doesn't hold a lot of stock for me.
Another issue I had was the artwork. In most cases, it's beautiful - the anthropomorphic animals look good and the colouring is gorgeous (especially in the opening chapter when a giant spell is being cast). However, when it came to the human character Learroyd, I thought he looked WEIRD, especially his face. It was creepy looking and off-putting.
The story's fine, but the character motivations were either needlessly nebulous (ie. Learroyd) or so blatantly and frustratingly obvious to the reader but not the characters (ie. the coyote trader character). I look forward to learning more about the world as it's only thinly sketched out in this volume.
My boyfriend read this too and he really liked it - I picked his brain about why that was and his answer really hit the nail on the head on why it worked for him and not so much for me: this book invokes a lot of nostalgia for Fantasy/Sci-Fi from the 1970s-80s. He grew up in the 80s and was basically raised on the stuff, but I'm a 90s baby and missed it, so this type of world/story doesn't hold a lot of stock for me.
Another issue I had was the artwork. In most cases, it's beautiful - the anthropomorphic animals look good and the colouring is gorgeous (especially in the opening chapter when a giant spell is being cast). However, when it came to the human character Learroyd, I thought he looked WEIRD, especially his face. It was creepy looking and off-putting.
The story's fine, but the character motivations were either needlessly nebulous (ie. Learroyd) or so blatantly and frustratingly obvious to the reader but not the characters (ie. the coyote trader character). I look forward to learning more about the world as it's only thinly sketched out in this volume.
This book is gorgeous. The first issue introduces a world of bi-pedal, finely dressed animals of all species living together in floating wicker cities in the sky. Dusty is a young terrier, son of a wizard tradesman who barters with the bison clans who live on the plans below. Dusty's sky-city home is held up by magic, but the magic of this world is dwindling. A set of wizards form a bold plan: to reach back in time with magic and summon the Great Champion, who saved magic at the dawn of history. The plan works, in a fashion, but at a terrible price. Someone is summoned, but where and when he came from is unclear. During the summoning Dusty's city plummets to the ground, leaving he stranded with a group of vain wizards and an alien in dangerous territory, surrounded by angry planes tribes.
I picked this up on a whim at the bookstore, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the art, story, and characters. I will definitely keep reading to see what happens with this story.
adventurous
medium-paced
I read this for the artwork and unfortunately didn't enjoy the story. Racist overtones for the bison people, and I have problems with being supposed to support their oppressors.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of those lovely first volumes that set things up alright, and the series seems pretty good, but it also seems like the next volume or two will be a pain.
The villains are transparently obvious, but of course hardly anyone notices. The twist with the champion was kind of boring on the whole. I'm not sure why we follow Dusty around so much, he doesn't do anything.
Still, the setting and the ritual and stuff were cool hooks off the bat, and generally the champion himself is fun, so I could go for a couple more of these.
The villains are transparently obvious, but of course hardly anyone notices. The twist with the champion was kind of boring on the whole. I'm not sure why we follow Dusty around so much, he doesn't do anything.
Still, the setting and the ritual and stuff were cool hooks off the bat, and generally the champion himself is fun, so I could go for a couple more of these.