| Title | : | The Cloud Raiders |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 154930299X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781549302992 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 |
| Publication | : | First published March 12, 2019 |
On tiny Mora--hurtling through space trying to find a star bright enough to sustain its fading life--everyone must do their part to keep the planet alive. Workers work. Leaders lead. Fighters fight.
But Loon Ozoa, confined to the life of a pit worker but born with the heart and passion of a warrior, dreams of enlisting in the Temple of Sacred Defense and fighting the monstrous Feeders that threaten his people's existence. When his friend Val Mol, second in command of the Rightful Blade, promises Loon a place in his ranks, Loon hopes to finally serve a higher purpose. But his hoverhog-riding, glint-slinging, mine-master grandma and her motley crew--the Cloud Raiders--are none too pleased about Loon trading in his drill rig for a shift sword.
Determined to serve Mora, Val and Loon's place in the military soon gets them lurched right into the murky waters of a conspiracy, one that holds dark secrets at the hands of their supreme regent. Will Val and Loon remain loyal to their commander, or will the secrets they uncover change everything they thought they knew about the purpose of their fight and fate of their planet?
The Cloud Raiders Reviews
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There's some great world building here. Set on a world where the fuel is drying up, the rich still live in luxury while the lower classes put their lives at risk to mine the Glint that's left. There's a larger mystery as large veins of Glint have gone missing along with some political behind the scenes underhandedness. The main characters of Loon and Grandma are great. Grandma is a badass skycycle riding warrior while Loon is small with lots of heart, but little skill. The story can be hard to follow. There are way too many characters (all with odd names) along with several made up words to figure out from their context. The art is great. The aliens all have an individual look and the color palette is nice and soothing.
Received a review copy from Lion Forge and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned. -
I received a copy of Glint Book One through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Glint is the newest graphic novel from Lion Forge. It’s the first in a trilogy, but honestly, it could also be read as a standalone as well if you were so inclined. They got Samuel Sattin (Legend) and Ian McGinty (Adventure Time) for the creative staff, which is pretty impressive.
Glint is set on a different world – one that is dying. The people of this world have gone to drastic measures to survive, understandably. Meanwhile, their society is slowly starting to crumble away. Naturally, it’s those on the fringes that are suffering the most, while the wealthy are still managing to thrive. I’ll give you three guesses as to how that works.
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Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks -
Before I read my first graphic novel in 2017, I was under the impression that they were all pretty much glorified comic books aimed at little boys who couldn't be bothered to read a full-length novel. I'm afraid that, if The Cloud Raiders had been my first introduction to the graphic novel format, it would have reinforced that assumption; I would've given up on the format instantly and then missed out on some wonderful books.
This is one of the weakest graphic novels I've read to date. I still don't really know what the plot was all about. The characters confused me no end; some of them looked so similar to each other, and their names were all weird (the use of nicknames and terms of endearment didn't help; neither did the slip-up where one character's name was spelled two different ways on the same page). And the panels are so cluttered that half the time I couldn't even tell what I was looking at... even after zooming in on the e-book edition. There are no breaks for chapters or sections, which leads to some rather abrupt and awkward transitions; it all reads like one great long piece, which is kind of exhausting.
Getting through this one was an absolute slog. I didn't care what was happening (probably because I couldn't tell what was happening), and I just wanted to get through the thing. Had it not been an ARC, I probably would've abandoned it.
I don't think I've ever felt so lost while reading any book, graphic novel or otherwise. The Cloud Raiders just made me feel stupid, like I was missing something really obvious. Maybe I was... or maybe I'm just not this book's audience.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lion Forge for providing a digital ARC. -
Samuel Sattin and Ian McGinty are the creative team to beat. Sorta like a Jim Henson project, but in comic form
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I can't wait until this book is published, because I think my kiddos at the library are going to love it. Without coming right out and saying it, Loon lives in a society where many of those in leadership are determined to create a situation where the lower classes have no way of raising themselves up, and you know what that means in graphic novel land: an uprising. Eventually, anyway. In the first volume what we see is a lot of youthful idealism and elder wisdom. Don't get me wrong, we're not talking "wise old owl" elders, these are former soldiers, and their abilities are undiminished by their age. I can feel some big deal type stuff coming in the next volume, and can't wait to read it.
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Glint is a great graphic novel with illustrations that remind me a little of Star Wars and The Dark Crystal. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, but the story does feel complete enough to leave you wanting to follow Loon to his next assignment.
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Glint tells us a story in a different world, Mora, where their population are struggling to survive.
Well., at least, the ones near the fumes are, but those in the citadel thrive.
We follow the live of Loon, a small boy that lives in the pit and works in the mine with his grandma and her group of cloud raiders, but that wants more in his life, he wants to serve the country by working with the TSL, the ones that protect the planet. Let's just say that his family and work buddies aren't much happy with it.
As well., we follow a bit of the leaders of the planet, the priestess and the the leader Murk of the TSL. One trying to protect the country and one, maybe not wanting that so much.
Follow along as they fight to protect the Mora country of the Feeders, terrifying monsters, as well as follow the mysteries of what's going on with the missing glint and the chiefs of state.
All the illustrations are magnificent, the plot is really catchy and all the colors and everything are great. I really enjoyed all the 160 pages of it and want more! That ending with the princess, grandma and Loon are too cool. Thanks for the chance of reading this book Netgalley! -
Got a very Dark Crystal vs Ayn Rand vibe from this book. Love the characters and the grandmother-ish character. I found the art and the dialogue to be particularly interesting. I had read Sattin's other book, THE SILENT END and was delight to see his name on this book.
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Mora is a little planet struggling to stay alive. On Mora, there are warriors and there are workers. The warriors protect Mora from Feeders and other vectors of attack, while workers mine for glint to keep their planet alive. One worker, tiny Loon Ozoa, wishes desperately to be a warrior - and his friend Val Mol, second in command of the Rightful Blade, promises to make that happen, much to the dismay of Loon's tough-as-nails grandmother. Soon, Loon and Val are called into battle - but it looks like the leaders of the planet are keeping some very dark secrets.
A really compelling adventure story with a maddening cliffhanger of an ending - it's going to have readers desperate to find out what comes next. -
This is the first book of an exciting all-ages sci-fi series. It takes place on Mora, a world powered by glint, a naturally occurring mineral collected at great peril by families of miners. Nearly all of the citizens of Mora live in Pits, or communities that have grown up around the mines. Only a few are able to live out of the reach of the poisonous fumes in The Citadel, the capital and center of the Temple of Sacred Defense. The fastest way out of the Pits is to enlist in the TSD, for Mora is constantly under attack by Feeders- huge beasts with many months who devour indiscriminately. Young Loon expects to live out his life working the mines, until his best friend Val is accepted into the TSD and made second in command of his brigade. Suddenly, Loon sees an opportunity to follow Val to The Citadel. Loon's mother, sick from glint fumes, and his badass grandma, a war hero and rebel, are horrified. They understand that the army offers far more death than glory, especially under the command of Supreme Regent Murc- who many or may not have Mora's best interests at heart. The story is fast paced and brightly colored. I love the mix of character designs- citizens of Mora are humanoid, but mostly bald with horns or ears of various shapes. They also vary greatly in height, weight, skin tone, and facial markings. This volume ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, so I am interested to see where the story goes in book two! I should note here that I am friends with the author, so I was able to get an advanced reader copy :)
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I somehow felt as if I have read this exact same story before, but I think that is because it is very similar to an episode of Voltron, except more confusing and with fewer space lion robots.
the basic premise is that on a small planet somewhere out there, people are being oppressed. Just about everyone mines for a living - for something called glint that somehow powers their world. Glint is also incredibly toxic so a lot of people are dying from exposure and fumes and someone is stealing the few stores of glint still found inside the mines.
There is a also a crooked military leader, a runaway princess (or as close to a princess as they have in this world) and a strange shadowy creature.. OH! And giant monsters called feeder that randomly show up and eat a bunch of people.
It's a little too much tossed into the salad, with the backdrop of a story that has been told way too many times to make it necessary to tell it again. -
Remember the fun you had watching Labyrinth? Or watching Fraggle Rock? Sattin and McGinty bring that same element of wonder and danger to GLINT! It isn’t *just* a comic book, it’s an addictive tour de force that harkens back to the works of Brian Jacques REDWALL, Ursula K. Le Quin’s EARTHSEA TRILOGY, and Jim Henson’s DARK CRYSTAL. If you haven't check it out, give it a try!
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Picked this up last week. It reminds me of the Smurfs... if they were revolutionaries.
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This is a somewhat interesting graphic novel, though I’ve read far better. I mostly enjoy the artwork, though a lot of panels include close-ups on clusters of faces, which becomes tedious. I would have liked to see a bit more action in some of the panels, rather than so many talking heads, especially in the first half of the graphic novel. The art itself is sort of shabby/moody, in a good way, but it’s often too cluttered, which is overwhelming and tiring, rather than interesting and helpful. I do enjoy the color palettes and the creatures.
The story itself is okay, but the pacing is really slow and world building isn’t always clear. I didn’t just dive right in, love this, and become obsessed. I sort of had to push myself forward towards the end, which is not what I look for in a graphic novel. I struggled to understand what was happening many times, so it took me far longer than usual to read this one, though the extra time didn’t really feel worth the payout. I got more frustrated the longer I read, because I just never really settled into the story like I wanted to. Something is missing from this one.
It’s not always clear what is happening, but my favorite panels were the ones with just one graphic for the whole page. I felt like my brain could relax a bit and just take those in. The smaller sections are very creature head and text heavy, and it became wearisome to read through some of those sections at times, rather than exciting.
There’s a good number of characters, and most aren’t developed as well as I would like. Also, many of them look similar, which caused confusion with so many close up head shot scenes, so the longer I read, the more confusing it became, juggling who was who and what was happening.
I do think this is a fun concept and an interesting world overall, though the plot could be stronger and clearer, as well as the world building. The monster/villain creatures are visually fascinating. What’s lacking most in this graphic novel is emotion. I think that’s a big part of my problem with it. It has no real emotions and makes me feel no emotions, and that might be why I feel so disconnected and struggled to force myself forward.
My advice: do not give this to new graphic novel readers. This would probably be a turn-off, and I would hate for them to give up on the format, based on this read. This graphic novel is better for your hard core readers who have consumed everything else you have in your collection and don’t mind spending a lot of time on each page, potentially struggling to make sense of what is occurring with this story. -
pleased about Loon trading in his drill rig for a shift sword.
Determined to serve Mora, Val and Loon's place in the military soon gets them lurched right into the murky waters of a conspiracy, one that holds dark secrets at the hands of their supreme regent. Will Val and Loon remain loyal to their commander, or will the secrets they uncover change everything they thought they knew about the purpose of their fight and fate of their planet?
I received an e-copy of this graphic novel via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the opinions expressed in this review.
This graphic novel was okay. We follow Loon, a small boy who works in the mines but wants to enlist in the TSL and protect his planet. But we also get glimpses from the lives of his grandma, a priestess, the leader of the TSL... all of this makes for a complex plot in this fun space adventure.
But than why didn't I love it. It took me a good 50 pages to get invested in the story, it was a struggle to keep going through the start. The dialogue feels forced at times, and we follow so many story lines the novel just isn't long enough to actually get the story on its way. The ending is quite the cliff hanger, but also feels very much like the start of the story. Nothing is really accomplished in this first book. The blurb refers to Val and Loon uncover secrets... well that doesn't happen. Not yet at least.
The artwork is decent enough. It is not something I find beautiful, but it certainly ain't ugly. It works well with the story, though at times I struggled discerning different characters and it got messy in action sequences making me loose track of what was happening.
Overall, it was a fun read and I would be interested to continue the series... but I wouldn't pay full price for them. -
This book was received as an ARC from Lion Forge Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
The drawings in this graphic novel are amazing and the dialogue is just adorably hysterical. However, the characters in this book while reading it were very relateable and are very humorous, young children might find them a little frightening. However, I did understand the direction the plot and character development were going and it is definitely a direction that patrons and readers alike will love.
We will consider adding this title to our Graphic Novel collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars. -
I really liked this! I thought the facial expressions were particularly good. But yeah, this rocks. It's on the same level as something like Bone or Amulet in that's it's this big, dark fantasy story without getting so dark that I wouldn't recommend it to young readers. Also, and this is going to sound weird, but it kind of reminds me of a dark and gritty Fraggle Rock which is very good.
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I thought this was a fantastic first volume! Can't wait for the rest. Saw this at C2E2 and I couldn't resist.
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Glint by Sam Sattin, Ian McGinty, and Lion Forge is a free NetGalley e-comicbook that I read in early January in exchange for a fair review.
This was an interesting read. It had a very Dark Crystal meets Anthem vibe to it. If I had one criticism, it’d be that the lettering was hard to read in spots. I hope the final printed version fixes this error. -
For Mora we strive! Gosh, I loved this book. I thought it was beautiful and stunning. The NetGalley copy I got had the lettering a little off register, but I’m sure that’ll be fixed in the final volume. Sattin and McInty are a stunning creative team.
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This is a stand-out graphic novel. I wish it was a complete story, (hence 4 out of 5 stars) - but this is otherwise wonderful. Sorta like PBS cartoon characters from the Electric Company thrown into an Ayn Rand novel. I adored it.
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Whimsical. Good use of words and terms from this fantastical world. Thoroughly involved!
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Spectacular read. Insightful. Thoughtful. Inspired work. Lionforge continues to release extraordinary books
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This was a fun and interesting read, but also a bit hard to follow in the sense that the reader is immersed into the action and suspense almost immediately, without much backstory. For example, we're not told (from what I could tell) why the Glint is really needed, just that they're needed and there's a class distinction between those mining it and those "high above" in the citadel reaping the benefits (pretty much could easily translate into a societal analysis/commentary). Another example is the priestess, but it's not clear of what - as in what kind of social structure it is (I guess military/theocracy?) other than, again, the rich reaping the benefits of the poor, who are scraping by and doing the toxic/dangerous work to keep the world going. It was still interesting and beautifully drawn, but at times, a bit hard to follow.
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'Glint Book One: The Cloud Raiders' by Samuel Sattin and Ian McGinty is a graphic novel that takes place in a different place with different creatures.
Mora is a tiny planet where denizens mine for Glint for their overlords. One of the tiny miners, Loon Ozoa, has bigger aspirations: to become a warrior and fighting in an elite fighting unit. The problem is that Lon's grandmother and her crew are not happy about it.
The story was ok, but I felt myself drifting as I read it. It took a while for me to get in to the story, but I ultimately liked it. The art and character design is disarmingly cute for the kind of dark story that this is.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Oni Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel. -
I love this! It wreaks of hope, dreams, strength, and being advocates of change and what that actually means. I can’t wait to see how this series develops! I love the artwork, the characters, the lingo! Everything! Thanks NetGalley for this Ahhhhhhhmazing galley, in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait to get this in the hands of young readers, you’re never to small to be a hope filled, dreamer!
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Fantastic book with a great message
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Dense with lore. Story's still setting up lots of moving pieces. Might get better later on, but as-is, it's just okay.
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This very short book took me awhile to read because I kept getting bored. The language is a bit stunted and the characters are forgettable, only lingering to leave annoyance.
