5 stars
An absolutely gorgeous book. This series is so amazingly beautiful and imaginative. The monsters, the characters, the scenery; so well done and magnificent to take in.
There’s an important balance to be made between world building and plot. Too much world building and the story becomes stagnant. Too much focus on plot and the world feels vague and distorted. This series has a superb balance in providing the reader with bit by bit of the world building while keeping the plot fast-paced and engaging. I absolutely love it.
Also, while the plot is quick-moving and makes me want to speed through the book to find out what happens next, the amazing artwork (especially the scenery shots) slows me down so that I can take in everything. Perfect balance.
There are plenty of new characters, epic fight scenes, surprises, and twists and turns in this one. Sure to keep the reader interested. This is such an amazing series. I’m actually kind of torn between re-reading the first two books to experience all of their excitement and beauty again and continuing on with the third book. Such an amazing series and I can’t wait to delve deeper into the wonderful world Kibuishi has created.