Review - World Without Darkness

World Without Darkness (Dam Keeper #2)
by Robert Kondo & Dice Tsutsumi
Date: 2018
Publisher: First Second
Reading level: MG
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 160
Format: e-book
Source: library

Beyond the dam lies certain death—this is something every citizen of Sunrise Valley knows well. Yet, when a poisonous black tidal wave carries Pig, Fox, and Hippo over the dam and into the wastelands, they don’t find death. Instead they find bustling cities, each with their own dams. Pig can't help but wonder, who is the mysterious dam keeper behind it all?

But he doesn't have time to unravel this mystery. The wave of deadly black fog will return to Sunrise Valley in four days, and its dam can't withstand another assault. In a stolen truck and with a deranged lizard leading the way, Pig and his friends are in a race against the clock. but can they reach home in time?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first installment. It's still a beautiful-looking graphic novel with a unique style, dreamy and colourful. But this one felt a little more aimless. I couldn't remember what the three friends were supposed to be doing, and the story didn't really remind us. They're trying to get back home, yes... but I can't really remember why they left in the first place. This book ends with a tantalizing hint of what's to come, but getting to that point felt like slogging through a whole lot of nothing. The mole princess (who's a rhino... I don't get it) and her weird little cult felt juvenile; that whole sequence was just a setup for the next installment in the series, and I could've done without it. Van the lizard is probably my favourite character, but he wasn't used as much as he could've been.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed. I've just come off of reading the first two books in the 5 Worlds series, and their complexity makes this one look weak in comparison. It's a pretty book to look at, and I'm sure when the series is complete it'll fit in nicely with the rest... but, on its own, it just doesn't seem like quite enough.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Illustration: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Rating: 2.88 out of 5 ladybugs