Review - The Cloud Raiders

The Cloud Raiders (Glint #1)
by Samuel Sattin & Ian McGinty
Date: 2019
Publisher: Lion Forge
Reading level: MG
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 160
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Lion Forge announced a graphic novel trilogy, Glint by Samuel Sattin (Legend) and Ian McGinty (Adventure Time). The story will be about the struggle to save a dying planet. Sattin said, “Motorbike-riding warrior grannies must help a small miner boy named Loon withstand a regime that’s been brainwashing its people for generations, while being attacked by monsters called Feeders.”

(synopsis from Goodreads)

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.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 1/5
Writing & Editing: 1/5
Illustration: 1/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 0/5

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 ladybugs