| Title | : | Ravens Gate: The Graphic Novel (The Power of Five: The Graphic Novels, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1406306479 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781406306477 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 188 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2010 |
Ravens Gate: The Graphic Novel (The Power of Five: The Graphic Novels, #1) Reviews
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My god, that was one creepy old lady!
Even though the story feel somewhat generic or typical at times, (especially when it comes to these middle grade books) I was entertained nonetheless. I have to take into account the target audience that would be more easily entertained by this after-all. It was chilling, intriguing and creepy. The storyline was great and I loved the artwork. It really played out like a movie in my head. I don't usually go for graphic novels, particularly ones that have been adapted from novels, but don't get discouraged: I was so glad I picked this little gem up. -
Read this in 1 sitting! Found it in a coffee shop, sat down with a tea and read until it was finished :) loved it, wish I had volume 2
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I had high hopes looking at the gorgeous front cover. But the interior art was a huge turn off. Lazy and flat black and white art. Story was predictable from the start.
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*3.5 stars.
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I have mix review about this book.
I liked the story but I don't know if truly enjoyed this book.
I was expecting awesome graphic but it felt flat.
Pros:
As some creepy face drawings. But nothing so bizarre about it.
The plot is ok, but it has the "been there done that" vibe
One book one 'episode' Meaning you can buy this book and still able to understand and get the whole concept. The story just doesn't hang in a cliff hanger in the middle. If you don't buy the next its still ok.
Cons:
The "Monotone: art was not very impressive. I wish they had used Monochrome style instead. The plain black and white graphic did very little to grab my attention.
I felt like the designer/artist only paid attention to certain detail but mainly the rest of it was just ......meh
After awhile the plot got very predictable (for me) and the art was not stunning and I felt bored while reading it.
I'm disappointed because I felt like it would have awesome potential if only the graphic was august! I might not continue with this series...... -
I don't think they will ever get a graphic novel based off a book right. I have read Alex rider graphics and they look like their characters but the storyline is completely different. Then you have this book. The storyline is exactly the same as the book but the characters do not look right. It is like they cannot get both of them right. It is either one or other. -
Loved the story and I am giving it 5 stars but the graphics get only 3 stars from me. It was all done in black and white. I would have preferred some splashes of color here and there though. It would have made everything more visually appealing and exciting. Just saying.
With that said, I look forward to reading the novel next time. -
Read this review and more on my
blog, uncovered-books.
I read the novel many years ago while I was in high school. Whilst I still have a vague understanding of what occurred, the details of it are fuzzy. So going into this graphic novel adaptation I was very excited to reacquaint myself with it since I did love this series.
The art style was very interesting. It is very blocky and heavy lines, which I liked as a whole. At times though, I did find it very overwhelming with more black on the page than I would have liked.
The actually storyline was confusing to me. Going into reading this graphic novel, it was very easy for me to approach it as it’s own thing since it has been such a long time since I read the series. Unfortunately, what I found was a very confusing storyline that did not progress in a fluid way that I would expect. It is almost like this should have been a longer graphic novel, or even split into 2 parts to allow for more expansion on what occurs. While lots of main plot points were hit, I feel like everything was rushed over so that it could fit into a certain amount of pages.
While most may enjoy this if you have not read the original novel, I personally enjoyed the novel more. -
Hmmm… a 2.5 from me.
Funnily enough, I think I flicked through this one day years ago at the library where I now work. It’s… I mean it’s a teen graphic novel, so I shouldn’t expect too much from it, but it’s just a bit pants. I wonder how the original novels stand up to this? I think the issue I had with this is that it jumped about a bit too much, trying to cover more ground in the space of a standard graphic novel. There were a few bits that just seemed sloppily added together, and then the bit about the smell of toast just made no sense “the smell of toast at the bog” for example - wasn’t mentioned at the time, but it conveniently ties a plot element together later on, so let’s just play along shall we?
I don’t know. I want to follow the story further, as it’s got potential, but I may see if I can get hold of the novels instead, as this just felt half-assed. -
Was a nice comic to speed through but to be honest I don’t feel like it was one that is worth a read.
Not much substance to it and unfortunately some of the drawings were of a poor quality that made it hard to distinguish the characters.
I wouldn’t write off the author themselves though because the storyline is unique and I enjoyed his Alex Rider series. -
I've read Anthony Horowitz's version of this book before so I was familiar with the story but the illustrations really brought it alive. Very enjoyable fantasy. Would love to read the others in the series.
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Stranger Things (a gate that might be opened can only be stopped by one person (for now, at least)) meets Hot Fuzz (a secret group are determined to work together to open the gate - the greater good).
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My first graphic novel. Not bad at all.
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When I saw this one (and the second book) at the library I just knew I had to get them. I knew that I read some of the books of this series many years ago and that I really liked them. And I also love graphic novels so I just had to try this one out.
Sadly, while the story is good (as expected), it flows all correctly (sometimes graphic novels shorten stuff/get rid of stuff and it might get confusing), the characters are interesting, the art just plain sucked. I am sorry to say this, but I just hated the art in here and I have to deduct stars for it. At times it was hard to see characters or background, at times people just looked like zombies or monsters straight out of a nightmare. Maybe some people will like this style of lots of shading, lots of crude lines, but I am just not the girl for it. For instance that medium woman? Instead of looking blind, she looked like a zombie about to eat some nomnom Matt breakfast. It just creeped me out too much. Matt himself? At times he looks like a man made out of blocks, at times he looks like a child, at times he looks like a teenager and at times I didn't know what I was looking at. Often people looked like something risen from some kind of nuclear apocalypse (with zombies), other times they looked like pandas (who thought it was a good idea to shade the eyes dark all around?) It is a real shame, graphic novels do rely on their art (hence, graphic novels and not novels).
But the story is great (as like I said, is expected) and I was delighted to read about Matt again. The first part of the graphic novel was (even with the time that passed) still familiar, but luckily the ending was not. The story was really creepy, old ladies who will kill anyone standing in their way, a whole creepy village of doom and much much more. It was really interesting to see Matt find out about his past, find out about what he was, and to see him fight. Of course, Matt was a typical teenager. Often not wanting to do stuff, often complaining and whining. Though I can slightly understand that, being forced to work, no one believing you, having all kind of scary stuff happening, anyone would complain or say "Thanks, but no thanks.", so Matt was a really good character, and I hope we will see him in the next one again (I am guessing yes, considering the ending, but it has been a long long time since I read the books).
Would I recommend this book? Not really sure. On the one hand it has a lot of greatness, but the art, the art just sucks, so I think I will just pick the safe road and say that people should read the books, and not this graphic novel.
For me? I will still read the second graphic novel, see if the art improves, and if not, then I will just stop after the second graphic novel.
Review first posted at
http://twirlingbookprincess.com/ -
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog
http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Raven's Gate is a graphic novel treatment of the novel by Anthony Horowitz (of Alex Rider series). Horowitz does a good job of evoking British male teen angst, this time with a supernatural (witches/warlocks) element.
The story involves a troubled boy who finds himself passed between relatives after the death of his parents. Matt knows he has some kind of supernatural ability but the grief over his parents' death (and that his ability allowed him to avoid the same fate) haunts him. When he ends up with a bad sort of kids and a robbery turns tragic, he's sent off to a special foster home. But there appears to be a hidden agenda to the foster home taking him - and the sleepy little English town is not all it appears on the surface.
The book is in black and white and the illustrations are suitably gothic for the tale. It's easy to follow though it is dialogue heavy (likely due to it being a book adaptation). The illustrations add to the story and help further the creepy feel of the town and its inhabitants.
In all, a solid book and I'll likely pick up further graphic adaptations in this series. -
This was a really good book, being in black in white, it really filled the theme of the actual book I have already read.
This fits into my "graphic novel" square of my bingo board.
My favourite quote is "emanynevaehnitraohwrehtaf," because that's the start of a prayer, but backwards.
A bad thing about this book was that it was short as. It took me about 2 hours to read. No-one recommended it to me.
a setting i found interesting was the nuclear reactor, because when that exploded, it would completely annihalet everything around it for miles and miles. but it didnt.
A character i found interesting was Matt Freeman. i saw him differently than what the graphic novel portayed.
something i learnt was a part of the lord's prayer. -
I haven't read the original book but I loved the storyline in the graphic novel. Quite scary and a bit violent and the telling thing is - I was gutted when I'd finished it because I wanted to read more :) Horowitz is really popular with teens and I can see why, he's managed to effectively mix horror and fantasy with gritty real life. The only downside was that while I enjoyed the scripting I didn't really like the artwork, it's very basic (says the person who can barely draw stick figures) and, well, black...
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A fun introduction to a new young adult-oriented series, based on a series by an acclaimed YA author, Anthony Horowitz.
The tale of Matt Freeman reminds me of Harry Potter, Pip from Great Expectations or Tom Sawyer, fleeing from his abusive father. These characters are called to make a difference and do it in a way that defies the absence of parents. They are called to use any available resources and ingenuity to escape from situations that threaten both life and limb.
Think I will read as many of this series as I can possibly source from the local library. -
The book created a haunting vibe within the very first few pages, and I felt my heartbeat quicken at some points of the story. The illustrations were also very vivid, which helped create the setting and added to the dramatic and spooky scenes.
I was very intrigued when I first started the book, and I loved the suspense of the story from almost the very beginning towards the late middle. After that, however, it was very anti-climactic.
Nevertheless, it's quite good, and I'm pleased I gave this graphic novel a try. -
I think that this book was quite good, because it was about a boy with special powers, and he didn't know it. He gets into trouble with the police, and is then involved in something named the Leaf Project. This is when he is sent to a home and cared for, it is basically a foster home. The foster parent is an evil lady, who wants to use him as a sacrafice to bring back some evil dudes.
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Loved this book!!!!
I have read the whole Alex rider series and liked them a lot but I found this series a lot more interesting
I love the creepiness in this book! There were very fast paced and movie action movie parts in the book that were written (I thought) extremely well and that gives you a very clear vivid picture in your head
100% 5 STARS!!!!! -
A troubled teen--Matt--is sent to a remote village in England as part of a program to get teens like him out of the big city in the hope of changing their behavior. The village he finds himself in holds a deep mystery, and soon Matt finds himself deep in the mystery being aided by a secret society the Nexus.
Good story, nice graphics. -
It was very strange , i think i may read the book, later on :) hehe
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REALLY REALLY fast read. Read this for English (have to do an essay on a book - graphic novel).
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This book moves really quickly and really grabs the readers attention!
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A great story with mystery, horror and adventure.
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very exciting and very dark
