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rajofthedance 's review for:
Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale
by Tim Fielder
I really seem to be alone here, but I think that this work either fails or underperforms in every aspect.
Art:
Ok my personal distaste for digital painting is obviously subjective. But my real problem with this book is its lack of dynamism. It's being marketed as a graphic novel because that's what sells right now, but it's just an illustrated novel. It follows the same template as something like Dinotopia; large splash page of detailed art and then a bunch of text describing what it happening in said art. It's "tell, don't show." The art is obviously labored over and often impressive, but you get more storytelling in the most mundane Krazy Kat sketch.
Plot:
Ok here is the thrust of the work. The eon-spanning SF saga. Unfortunately it largely reads like someone running down all the bullet points of the backstory to the RPG they're dreaming up. Or like reading "History of Middle Earth" synopsis on a Wiki somewhere. Yeah you're getting a bunch of names and events and conflicts. But you're not going to become emotionally invested without connecting to the.....
Characters:
So we come to the Achilles heel of the whole operation, in my opinion. There just aren't any interesting characters.
Ok there is *character* singular, but he's boring as hell. We have a 1 dimensional lead and a series of .5 dimensional supports that float through without much real impact.
The whole thing could be read like an inversion of Gilgamesh, where instead of seeking immortality he's cursed with it. But somehow the oldest known story in the history of humanity is still more fresh and alive than something that a professional writer published in 2021.
But I liked the Uhura cameo. Uhura should cameo in everything. Uhura rules.
Art:
Ok my personal distaste for digital painting is obviously subjective. But my real problem with this book is its lack of dynamism. It's being marketed as a graphic novel because that's what sells right now, but it's just an illustrated novel. It follows the same template as something like Dinotopia; large splash page of detailed art and then a bunch of text describing what it happening in said art. It's "tell, don't show." The art is obviously labored over and often impressive, but you get more storytelling in the most mundane Krazy Kat sketch.
Plot:
Ok here is the thrust of the work. The eon-spanning SF saga. Unfortunately it largely reads like someone running down all the bullet points of the backstory to the RPG they're dreaming up. Or like reading "History of Middle Earth" synopsis on a Wiki somewhere. Yeah you're getting a bunch of names and events and conflicts. But you're not going to become emotionally invested without connecting to the.....
Characters:
So we come to the Achilles heel of the whole operation, in my opinion. There just aren't any interesting characters.
Ok there is *character* singular, but he's boring as hell. We have a 1 dimensional lead and a series of .5 dimensional supports that float through without much real impact.
The whole thing could be read like an inversion of Gilgamesh, where instead of seeking immortality he's cursed with it. But somehow the oldest known story in the history of humanity is still more fresh and alive than something that a professional writer published in 2021.
But I liked the Uhura cameo. Uhura should cameo in everything. Uhura rules.