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A review by art_cart_ron
Providence Compendium by Alan Moore
2.0
I think I would have gone with a solid 3 stars, if the last two issues hadn't lost me almost entirely.
Either they were reliant on other published work that Moore has written, or they just went over my head (in part because I didn't feel motivated or patient enough to track down the threads).
I've had several of AM's later books do this for me - the Black Dossier, a League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen book, was one.
Some sad and poignant character development built up a real connection with Mr. Black - the primary protagonist. His travels became a sort of X-Files version of Lovecraft - - great fun sometimes, if you can remember their inspiring source material well enough. The whole endeavor would have a bigger payoff if you've read all of Lovecraft several times. I've only read most of Lovecraft, and only read a few of his short stories several times.
So I'm going with 3 stars - because it's not a complete package. It's highly reliant on lots of specialized knowledge, and apparently on tracking down some other rare gems in Moore's waning career small press efforts.
I'm pretty disappointed right now, because it's not a quick or easy read - and I really wanted to like it more. The prose sections (about 50% of the book) are written in small irregular handwriting that made my eyes water and were not suited to the page. No breaks in text, reduced contrast... it was a serious chore to read them. They were worthwhile about 75% of the time, and the 25% that weren't (to me) were a real loss of time.
Either they were reliant on other published work that Moore has written, or they just went over my head (in part because I didn't feel motivated or patient enough to track down the threads).
I've had several of AM's later books do this for me - the Black Dossier, a League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen book, was one.
Some sad and poignant character development built up a real connection with Mr. Black - the primary protagonist. His travels became a sort of X-Files version of Lovecraft - - great fun sometimes, if you can remember their inspiring source material well enough. The whole endeavor would have a bigger payoff if you've read all of Lovecraft several times. I've only read most of Lovecraft, and only read a few of his short stories several times.
So I'm going with 3 stars - because it's not a complete package. It's highly reliant on lots of specialized knowledge, and apparently on tracking down some other rare gems in Moore's waning career small press efforts.
I'm pretty disappointed right now, because it's not a quick or easy read - and I really wanted to like it more. The prose sections (about 50% of the book) are written in small irregular handwriting that made my eyes water and were not suited to the page. No breaks in text, reduced contrast... it was a serious chore to read them. They were worthwhile about 75% of the time, and the 25% that weren't (to me) were a real loss of time.