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geekwayne's review
1.0
'Drones' is just a mess of a graphic novel. The characters in the story run around and are confused, and I, as the reader, fully understand their confusion.
For some reason, in the near future, Las Vegas has decided to create a terrorism-themed hotel. A couple of drone pilots find themselves at this resort and can't tell who are the real terrorists and who are the actors. The confusion really starts at the beginning of the book where the soldiers conduct a real drone strike half a world away, then the people they thought they hit show up in Las Vegas. It's as if Afghanistan and Las Vegas are next to each other. That's just one of the problems with this book.
It's supposed to be satirical, but it just isn't very funny. It's crude in lots of ways. There are tourists re-enacting orgy scenes that look like Abu Ghraib. There are weapons that look like grotesquely sized sex toys. It all seems like it's supposed to be a joke, but no character is sympathetic enough to be the straight man, and the punchline gets lost in the overly confusing plot. I'm not actually sure why it's called 'Drones' except that there are some brief appearances by drones. The concept sounded interesting, but the execution just didn't work for me.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
For some reason, in the near future, Las Vegas has decided to create a terrorism-themed hotel. A couple of drone pilots find themselves at this resort and can't tell who are the real terrorists and who are the actors. The confusion really starts at the beginning of the book where the soldiers conduct a real drone strike half a world away, then the people they thought they hit show up in Las Vegas. It's as if Afghanistan and Las Vegas are next to each other. That's just one of the problems with this book.
It's supposed to be satirical, but it just isn't very funny. It's crude in lots of ways. There are tourists re-enacting orgy scenes that look like Abu Ghraib. There are weapons that look like grotesquely sized sex toys. It all seems like it's supposed to be a joke, but no character is sympathetic enough to be the straight man, and the punchline gets lost in the overly confusing plot. I'm not actually sure why it's called 'Drones' except that there are some brief appearances by drones. The concept sounded interesting, but the execution just didn't work for me.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
iffer's review
1.0
I thought the art in Drones was pretty decent, and I'd be interested to see the artist work on a decent story.
It *could* just be that I'm not a fan of crude satires, but I honestly think that this was just bad. Unlike something like Borat or The Interview, which were at least intelligible, and somewhat intelligent, Drones is neither. It was confusing and didn't make sense, not aided by the fact that it was difficult to discern between the characters, due not only to how they're drawn, but because they often end up disguised as other characters, but because it was poorly written. Instead of providing intelligent, or at least amusing, political commentary about the war on terrorism, or social commentary about the public's appetite for entertainment rather than news, Drones read more like an excuse for Chris Lewis to make sophomoric sexual innuendo jokes ("double ententre" is too classy a term to use here) and include at least three pages of orgy drawings. I could have tried harder to figure out what was going on plot-wise, but this made me not want to.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced reader edition.
It *could* just be that I'm not a fan of crude satires, but I honestly think that this was just bad. Unlike something like Borat or The Interview, which were at least intelligible, and somewhat intelligent, Drones is neither. It was confusing and didn't make sense, not aided by the fact that it was difficult to discern between the characters, due not only to how they're drawn, but because they often end up disguised as other characters, but because it was poorly written. Instead of providing intelligent, or at least amusing, political commentary about the war on terrorism, or social commentary about the public's appetite for entertainment rather than news, Drones read more like an excuse for Chris Lewis to make sophomoric sexual innuendo jokes ("double ententre" is too classy a term to use here) and include at least three pages of orgy drawings. I could have tried harder to figure out what was going on plot-wise, but this made me not want to.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced reader edition.
urlphantomhive's review
1.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Initial reaction: WTF did I just read, and perhaps more importantly, why did I read this?
I believe it pretends to be a satirical take on terrorism, drones, and the entertainment industry, but it was an utterly confusing, uninteresting story that didn't make sense at all.
At first I believed I was the only one who didn't understand what was going on, but reading some other reviews, I found out I was not alone, which was in this case a relieve since it's been a long time since something confused me as much as this. It was extremely difficult to keep the different characters apart since they all looked alike.
I would try to explain the plot, but I've no idea what it was, so I just give up.
After reading this one, I'm not going to request graphic novels for a while.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Initial reaction: WTF did I just read, and perhaps more importantly, why did I read this?
I believe it pretends to be a satirical take on terrorism, drones, and the entertainment industry, but it was an utterly confusing, uninteresting story that didn't make sense at all.
At first I believed I was the only one who didn't understand what was going on, but reading some other reviews, I found out I was not alone, which was in this case a relieve since it's been a long time since something confused me as much as this. It was extremely difficult to keep the different characters apart since they all looked alike.
I would try to explain the plot, but I've no idea what it was, so I just give up.
After reading this one, I'm not going to request graphic novels for a while.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
librarydanielle's review
1.0
I did not really care for this title.
I found the artwork fantastic, but distracting. To be fair, I read it on a tablet, and they don't always work well with graphic novels. I would be willing to give it a try in a physical format, but I'm not really holding my breath.
The story is broken and confusing, and to be honest, doesn't make much sense. It is all over the place with not much continuity or plot.
There is very little world building or character introduction, which is a huge drawback when most of the characters act and look similar.
The idea is a great one, but the execution was extremely poor.
I found the artwork fantastic, but distracting. To be fair, I read it on a tablet, and they don't always work well with graphic novels. I would be willing to give it a try in a physical format, but I'm not really holding my breath.
The story is broken and confusing, and to be honest, doesn't make much sense. It is all over the place with not much continuity or plot.
There is very little world building or character introduction, which is a huge drawback when most of the characters act and look similar.
The idea is a great one, but the execution was extremely poor.
nightxade's review
2.0
This book is trying to be a satirical look at terrorism in the Middle East and the drone technology used to target it, through the spectrum of western society's penchant for turning anything into gross entertainment. An interesting, thought-provoking, and challenging approach to a serious topic, but the execution is an utterly confusing failure. I spent a good chunk of my time trying to tell the characters apart, and ultimately failed to find the humour in the terrorist-themed hotel and the various antics that go on within it.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
www.BiblioSanctum.com
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
www.BiblioSanctum.com
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