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A review by xterminal
A Distant Soil, Vol. 1: The Gathering by Neil Gaiman, Colleen Doran
3.0
Colleen Doran, A Distant Soil, vol. I (1998, Image Entertainment)
I should preface this by saying that Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil is the first graphic novel I've read since The Watchmen, some thirteen years ago, and so I may be missing some of the subtleties involved. If so, mea culpa.
I've just finished the first volumes of the A Distant Soil trilogy (at least, it's a trilogy as of this writing), and I've been trying to decide whether I want to continue on with the other two books in the series. Still haven't decided one way or the other. Doran seems to be trying (as Neil Gaiman says in his introduction to the book) to cram just a little too much into the space provided.
The story centers on a brother and sister who have grown up in a mental institution-cum-research facility. Both have psychic powers, but are unaware of the extent of those powers, as are their keepers. The two of them, after a crisis situation, escape and are separated. They find themselves aiding two different (and possibly conflicting; it's impossible to tell) branches of an alien resistance force, along with an odd assortment of characters both alien and human, including Galahad (yes, THAT Galahad).
There is, without doubt, a lot going on here. And once you've got a handle on things, you can probably keep track of it all, but it takes much longer to get a handle on things than it should. Again, Gaiman's introduction rings true here; Doran's work got better as she got older. If you're willing to get through the earlier parts in order to get to the later stuff, you'll find much to enjoy here.
The problem, though, is that some of the failings persist until the end of the novel. Cuts in location and time aren't indicated in any way, and the segues remain jarring throughout. The atmosphere is minimal; a good thing in some cases when telling a story, but generally not so good when one is working in the graphic realm. (One of the things that made The [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] so excellent was Moore's constant use of atmospheric detail, which is lacking here.)
Hard to really say. I liked it, but I still haven't figured out whether I'm going on to volume II. ** ½
I should preface this by saying that Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil is the first graphic novel I've read since The Watchmen, some thirteen years ago, and so I may be missing some of the subtleties involved. If so, mea culpa.
I've just finished the first volumes of the A Distant Soil trilogy (at least, it's a trilogy as of this writing), and I've been trying to decide whether I want to continue on with the other two books in the series. Still haven't decided one way or the other. Doran seems to be trying (as Neil Gaiman says in his introduction to the book) to cram just a little too much into the space provided.
The story centers on a brother and sister who have grown up in a mental institution-cum-research facility. Both have psychic powers, but are unaware of the extent of those powers, as are their keepers. The two of them, after a crisis situation, escape and are separated. They find themselves aiding two different (and possibly conflicting; it's impossible to tell) branches of an alien resistance force, along with an odd assortment of characters both alien and human, including Galahad (yes, THAT Galahad).
There is, without doubt, a lot going on here. And once you've got a handle on things, you can probably keep track of it all, but it takes much longer to get a handle on things than it should. Again, Gaiman's introduction rings true here; Doran's work got better as she got older. If you're willing to get through the earlier parts in order to get to the later stuff, you'll find much to enjoy here.
The problem, though, is that some of the failings persist until the end of the novel. Cuts in location and time aren't indicated in any way, and the segues remain jarring throughout. The atmosphere is minimal; a good thing in some cases when telling a story, but generally not so good when one is working in the graphic realm. (One of the things that made The [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] so excellent was Moore's constant use of atmospheric detail, which is lacking here.)
Hard to really say. I liked it, but I still haven't figured out whether I'm going on to volume II. ** ½