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palinss 's review for:
Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven
by Marjorie M. Liu
This might be my favorite thing I've read all year. Holy shit, this series is INCREDIBLE. I read all 7 volumes in about a week, so I will not be posting individual reviews for each. This will be the review for volumes 1-3.
If you know me, you know I love a murderous woman. From page one, I fell in love with Maika. From the very beginning, you know what she's about, and I'M WITH HER. All the other characters are just as complex as Maika, with their own motivations, backstories, and personalities. No one is one dimensional in this story, and they all live in a grey area between good and evil. No one character stands out at the "bad" or "good" guy. The bad guys are given moments of empathy and kindness, and the good guys often make terrible and horrific decisions. This dynamic of characters makes for such a compelling story. I found myself rooting for all of them and none of them while reading.
The world that has been created is also SO incredibly unique. There's still so much of the world that has yet to be uncovered, but each corner that has been revealed has a wealth of history, traditions, religions, and ways of governing. Some of it was hard to keep track of, but that's often because I'm a poor reader, not because the author/illustrator has delivered the world poorly.
The plot never stops moving in this story. There's constantly another secret to be revealed or a major twist that takes our characters in an entirely new direction. The story is dark, ruthless, and gruesome. I loved every second of it.
Finally, I've never really read a graphic novel before, and this book really just made me appreciate the work it takes to create one. The level of craft it takes to tell a story in both pictures and dialogue is incredible! I will be picking up more just because of this one! I can not recommend this more highly!
If you know me, you know I love a murderous woman. From page one, I fell in love with Maika. From the very beginning, you know what she's about, and I'M WITH HER. All the other characters are just as complex as Maika, with their own motivations, backstories, and personalities. No one is one dimensional in this story, and they all live in a grey area between good and evil. No one character stands out at the "bad" or "good" guy. The bad guys are given moments of empathy and kindness, and the good guys often make terrible and horrific decisions. This dynamic of characters makes for such a compelling story. I found myself rooting for all of them and none of them while reading.
The world that has been created is also SO incredibly unique. There's still so much of the world that has yet to be uncovered, but each corner that has been revealed has a wealth of history, traditions, religions, and ways of governing. Some of it was hard to keep track of, but that's often because I'm a poor reader, not because the author/illustrator has delivered the world poorly.
The plot never stops moving in this story. There's constantly another secret to be revealed or a major twist that takes our characters in an entirely new direction. The story is dark, ruthless, and gruesome. I loved every second of it.
Finally, I've never really read a graphic novel before, and this book really just made me appreciate the work it takes to create one. The level of craft it takes to tell a story in both pictures and dialogue is incredible! I will be picking up more just because of this one! I can not recommend this more highly!