A review by ntembeast
Saints by Gene Luen Yang

3.0

Well. I'm not going to spout some bullshit saying that this wasn't a good story or that it wasn't well written, but I think more or less I'm disappointed solely because I'm so sad with how everything turned out. It's one people wronging another, and both are equally to blame for the horrible things they do to each other-- no one ends up the winner, everyone loses, the blood never ends. It was a sad story. But considering the hints I've seen at the end of both of these volumes, I take it that this was all based on a very real historical event, and that Gene Luen Yang just put his own characters into the story to write about it and make it better known. *Shuts eyes and shakes head sadly* It just isn't a happy story, and I think if you go into it knowing that, it makes the blow a little less harsh. Of course, this would also be something easier to understand and probably to benefit from if you knew about the real historical events that it seems this duology is based off of, "The Boxer Rebellion." While I personally have no knowledge of this, I think anyone genuinely interested in Chinese culture and history will likely find a lot to enjoy about this duology. It's rich in story, and its characters are superb. It's just sad, as well. So be forewarned of that when you go into it.