The Unwritten (Vol 1 to 10) - Very confusing
This is going to be a review of my first ever graphic novel. I did read Superman/Spiderman a long time ago when I was in Kuwait (I think!!!!). I do not remember where I got those from but I am not able to find them now. Hmmmm....I am not a really big fan of graphic novels. I did come across them during my bookshop browsing's but I just found them to be too expensively priced in India. Rs 700 + for a graphic novel???. They do have the silky, nice soft glossy paper (which is very nice to read when there is sunlight on them - I read most of The Unwritten next to a window...) and all of that but I rather buy a proper paperback or maybe 2-3 for the same amount.
Anyway I am out of "smarty ass" things to say, so let's just get to it. This set of books (From Vol 1 - Vol 10) were loaned to me by one of my friends. (Why did she do that ....That is another story which is under wraps for now....yeah I know nobody reads my blog, except for my long suffering husband... but anyway let's just keep it that way OK). I had actually asked her to get me some interesting books to read, but she just wanted me to try reading these kind of books for once (graphic novels I mean), and yes, I have realized that I do like graphic novels, but this one was just kind of, mixed feelingish (not even a word, but best describes what I am feeling), for me.
This is the story of a boy by the name of Tom Taylor. He is the son of Wilson Taylor who has created the Tommy Taylor series (Think Harry Potterish....). The hero of the book is based on his son, and the books are a phenomenon and as per the "book's" statistics nearly 40% of all the population who can read has read the book. Wow...but then Harry Potter right!!! Tom does not work and reeks out his living by attending book signings, whenever a new book has been released, giving interviews and such stuff. He has an agent who helps him with all of this. However, during one of the interviews, a reporter questions his very existence and whether he is the real Tom Taylor or just a fraud. She sets of a series of events which changes all the lives of all the characters in the story forever. He now has to fight to prove his identity and also a cabal organization which is trying to take over the world by controlling literature. I am going no further, because I think I will just end up telling the story here
Now let me come to what I liked about the book. The graphics were amazing and clear. Even the drawings and the representation of scenarios like war scenes/talking animals/vampires etc were brilliant. This book has a lot of parallel worlds running in it and the existence of these worlds, quite honestly, went above my head. I loved the Tom Taylor story in itself. The problems that I had with the series was that I was not able to understand why these parallel worlds were there in the first place. They did have relevance to the story, for sure, but I was not able to understand what the relevance was. In some parts I got a bit bored and flipped pages. The first 4 books in the series were very interesting. The rest was good for sure but not a much as the first 4. There are a lot of cuss words, swearing and gruesome violence, so if you have kids in the house who like reading graphic novels, I suggest you hide these till they reach the appropriate ages. My daughter thought Tommy Taylor (The Harry Potter of the book) was Jackie Chan for some reason. She kept wanting to know why he was like that (meaning drawn) and not as she sees him on TV. She is just 3 years, so let's just let it go, but it is felt like an interesting bit of trivia to add.
I wish I was more intelligent to read these kind of books. Maybe I should start reading a lot more of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman etc (maybe). But this series has got wonderful reviews so please read the them. I, on the other hand, am going to find some brain sharpening tools (how wonderful if we really had those).
Anyway I am out of "smarty ass" things to say, so let's just get to it. This set of books (From Vol 1 - Vol 10) were loaned to me by one of my friends. (Why did she do that ....That is another story which is under wraps for now....yeah I know nobody reads my blog, except for my long suffering husband... but anyway let's just keep it that way OK). I had actually asked her to get me some interesting books to read, but she just wanted me to try reading these kind of books for once (graphic novels I mean), and yes, I have realized that I do like graphic novels, but this one was just kind of, mixed feelingish (not even a word, but best describes what I am feeling), for me.
This is the story of a boy by the name of Tom Taylor. He is the son of Wilson Taylor who has created the Tommy Taylor series (Think Harry Potterish....). The hero of the book is based on his son, and the books are a phenomenon and as per the "book's" statistics nearly 40% of all the population who can read has read the book. Wow...but then Harry Potter right!!! Tom does not work and reeks out his living by attending book signings, whenever a new book has been released, giving interviews and such stuff. He has an agent who helps him with all of this. However, during one of the interviews, a reporter questions his very existence and whether he is the real Tom Taylor or just a fraud. She sets of a series of events which changes all the lives of all the characters in the story forever. He now has to fight to prove his identity and also a cabal organization which is trying to take over the world by controlling literature. I am going no further, because I think I will just end up telling the story here
Now let me come to what I liked about the book. The graphics were amazing and clear. Even the drawings and the representation of scenarios like war scenes/talking animals/vampires etc were brilliant. This book has a lot of parallel worlds running in it and the existence of these worlds, quite honestly, went above my head. I loved the Tom Taylor story in itself. The problems that I had with the series was that I was not able to understand why these parallel worlds were there in the first place. They did have relevance to the story, for sure, but I was not able to understand what the relevance was. In some parts I got a bit bored and flipped pages. The first 4 books in the series were very interesting. The rest was good for sure but not a much as the first 4. There are a lot of cuss words, swearing and gruesome violence, so if you have kids in the house who like reading graphic novels, I suggest you hide these till they reach the appropriate ages. My daughter thought Tommy Taylor (The Harry Potter of the book) was Jackie Chan for some reason. She kept wanting to know why he was like that (meaning drawn) and not as she sees him on TV. She is just 3 years, so let's just let it go, but it is felt like an interesting bit of trivia to add.
I wish I was more intelligent to read these kind of books. Maybe I should start reading a lot more of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman etc (maybe). But this series has got wonderful reviews so please read the them. I, on the other hand, am going to find some brain sharpening tools (how wonderful if we really had those).
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