Written by Luca Frigerio
Illustrated by Lorenza Pigliamosche (2024)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
This book had an interesting cover. It wasn't a retelling of a fairy tale, and it wasn't anything Disney-related or related to anything else I was aware of. And it had a promise of adventure on the back cover.
It didn't deliver on any of it.
For one thing, it wasn't a complete story. It was more of an origin story, and she wasn't much of a pirate by the end of this installment.
Second, I have no clue what the hell the artist was thinking ... or not thinking. Half of the time, the characters had no faces -- they were obscured by hats, their heads were lowered, and sometimes their heads (or just their faces) weren't in the frame of the panel. The artwork, which should've sung, was just bad.
Also, it's not like the characters were trying to hide their faces for story reasons. Their faces did get shown sometimes, which only made the other times seem odd.
Also, the fight scenes were blurred action lines, and I often hadn't a clue what had happened until I read the aftermath ... and sometimes I wasn't sure then, either.
The few pages give you an idea of how poor the storytelling will be. Two pirate ships come to battle each other. On one, we have Stephane and Maxime, who we will come to root for (and eventually see Maxime's face), and on the other is the pirate queen who is quick to slice off the head of an advisor who expresses caution or concern. The battle commences with both ships firing cannons and ...
And we turn the page, and it's a few days later, on an island, and no one from the preceding page is there.
Maxime and Stephane eventually show up to rescue Julie from the place where they originally hid her because they fear the pirate queen is coming for her. Julie also makes steampunk explosives, but we don't see too much of this late.
They sail to take her to her father. They get double-crossed by someone who kidnaps them ... and takes them to her father. The Pirate King, like the Pirate Queen, is quick to want Maxime and Stephane killed for their carelessness, despite how skillful and loyal they are.
It goes on from there, and, oh, the Queen is Julie's mother, and the Queen's son whose death the King was responsible for was the King's son and Julie's brother ... and it was all confusing and not a lot of lot piracy.
The adventures will continue, but they won't continue with me.
I was not a fan.
If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment