Amulet Series Vol. 1-9 Books. The Stonekeeper, The Stonekeeper's Curse, The Cloud Searchers, The Last Council, Prince of the Elves, Escape from Lucien, Firelight, Supernova, Waverider.

by Kazu Kibuishi

Amulet Series Vol. 1-9 Books. The Stonekeeper, 9780439846813; The Stonekeeper's Curse, 9780439846837; The Cloud Searchers, 9781407180779; The Last Council, 9780545208871; Prince of the Elves, 9780545208895; Escape from Lucien, 9780545433150; Firelight, 9780545433167; Supernova, 9780545828604; Waverider, 9780545828659.

Genres: Comics

2016 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Kazu Kibuishi (born 1978) is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for being the creator and editor of the comic anthology Flight and for creating the webcomic Copper. He has also written (drawn) the Amulet series. The webcomic artist and noted critic Scott McCloud has said that some of Kazu Kibuishi's work is so beautifully drawn that "it hurts my hands when I look at it".

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol. 1 The Stonekeeper ~ Well, this has definitely caught my attention. Interesting characters, intriguing premise, fascinating world buckling, beautiful art. I can certainly see why so many people like this series.

Vol. 2 Stonekeeper’s Curse ~ I enjoyed this volume a bit more than the first. In part, most likely, because things are making sense now that some explanations were provided.

Vol. 3 The Cloud Searchers ~ A fun romp that moves the story onward, with increasing complexities to backstories and motivations, but still maintains its whimsical origins.

Vol. 4 The Last Council ~ This series certainly doesn’t shy away from the cliches of either children’s literature or epic fantasy. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly does make for a predictable read.

Vol. 5 Prince of the Elves ~ Some wonderful, and long overdue, background material. Our antagonist gets some depth and it helps develop some of the protagonists as well. A definite improvement.

Vol. 6 Escape from Lucien ~ Well, things are looking grim and the tension is picking up. Well done. Very enjoyable.

Vol. 7 Firelight ~ I found this volume rather disappointing. I’m feeling like the trajectory of the narrative is headed into more clichéd territory than I’d like. Still, it is a beautiful graphic novel series.

Vol. 8 Supernova ~ Another volume of … well, this is kind of difficult to explain. There are stories that grow and evolve organically. And then they are stories that change, with new elements being introduced without forethought or, even worse, seemingly without any concept of world building or consistency. I fear that’s what happening here. This is, on one hand, a fascinating story, but it has become so seemingly unfocused, with new characters being introduced and new narrative threads without any thought as to how these new aspects affect or interact with what has been previously introduced. It has begun to feel like there’s little or no internal logic to any of this. I’m glad there’s only one volume left (if it EVER actually gets released), because I’m kind of losing interest in the whole narrative.

Vol. 9 Waverider ~ This is a good series. I did enjoy it. But I have to admit that I was disappointed with more than a few of the aspects. What started out as fascinating world building dissipated as successive volumes illustrated an increasing lack of focus and a desire to introduce new elements at a point that was far too late to develop and integrate them properly into the whole. This left a need at the conclusion, this volume, to back pedal and unravel a lot of what was so interesting and seemingly unique in the early volumes (this is similar effect to when comic book companies release new material with retroactive-continuity that cheapens or weakens stronger stories that had been previously published). My response then to this final volume has been to be disappointed with the overall narrative, but I feel like there are some really useful comments being made, they’re just lost in a wash of too much unconnected things happening with too little connective tissues to make it all seem cohesive. Some volumes are strong, others feel like they’re treading water, and at least one was just flat out disappoint. So it’s a good series, with some points, but overall it’s rather uninspired and mediocre children’s literature.

[The_Ugly_Squid · Rating 3 out of 5]

The nostalgiaaaa

[AboringK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whole series review because Im not not bothered to give individual thoughts to all nime books. I had a few hopes for the series, but after reading it what started as solid devolved into narratively unfulfilling. The first book was a solid introduction, it's kind of damp and murky but it adds flair. Next few books, 2 to 5 have a solid through line. Expanding on the world yet the plot looses it's starting point I feel. Book 6 is still solid but nothing to write home about. 7, the cracks start to show but I enjoyed how it changes the perspective on the opening tragedy, and also the ending was good, at least where Emily the mc turns into a beast, the space stuff is the part where it all goes to shit. Throughout the books, the big bad guy is supposed to be the elf king, but suddenly, these gooey floating clouds are the main threat, yeah something that one of the characters used as an item in the very first book, yeah those are the largest threat and also they come from space, and also the elf king doesn't matter, he was always set up as a puppet for something else, but he's just kicked out of the story so easily you wonder how he was a threat in the first place. The space stuff comes out of nowhere and it's explained badly, the shadows come from another planet, so they go to another planet and the resistance also has space equipment? And by the final book, a bunch of plotlines are dropped for an ending that either doesn't resolve things or rushes thins along. It's also the longest book in the series. If you know the author, you'll know that he suffered an accident and has been affected by memory loss, so I don't want to come off as shittin on someone who has a condition like that, but I can criticize the choice of not having someone help by keeping the facts straight, I doubt it would be hard to have an assistant who tracks the story. Or maybe this was the trajectory of the story and it was destined to be shit. The ending really soured the experience. The art is nice, easily the best part of the series, but narratively it really falters. I'd say the first half is solid, and the second half starts well and then drops the ball.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novels are not my favorite medium, but I read this series to keep up with everyone else in my house who has read and enjoyed them.

[Rodrigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful books with some weak parts but some very strong. Good message for everyone, not just kids.

[Colten Barlishen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
brought me right back to grade 6

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative and thoughtful - Kibuishi crafts a compelling alternative universe without overexplaining. Great storytelling!

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I thought it started out strong, but by the third book I started to wonder if Kibuishi was just making up the story beats as he went along. There was a lot of potential for world-building here, but it gets watered down with new legends, histories, and characters constantly being introduced and discarded without much payoff. The ending is as mediocre as the rest of the story, so if you enjoy the ride, you might enjoy the end too. I was mildly disappointed over all. It's no Bone: The Complete Edition, but it could have been.

The artwork was pretty good. Though I thought some of the panels moved things along too quickly creating confusion; it honestly seemed like there were missing panels in every action scene. The standout here are the spreads and transitional panels. Many of them are beautiful and epic, showcasing some very cool design elements.

My kids enjoyed this in middle school (clarification: the the final book was released in 2024 after many delays). I'm sure yours would too. For the adult reader, I would suggest Bone, as mentioned earlier. It's a much tighter story and just as epic, but it's also way more fun.

[WadeofEarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second read through of the first 8, in order to read the latest and final installment of this gorgeous story!

This series was especially fun because my son found it and read it first and recommended it to me, and then with the newest one, his little sister was reading it too! Thankfully I accidentally pre-ordered 2 copies of book 9 do we didn't have to fight too much...

This graphic novel series feels a little dreamlike in its surreal beauty, but the subject matter, while appropriate for kids, is still pretty sobering.

The story takes place with a family getting drawn through a door into a world adjacent to our own, but oh so different! It is exciting, funny, adorably and tragic, as my family can attest (8yo, 12yo, and 39yo) It works for all ages.

Highly recommend!

[Tamara Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I read through this graphic novel series to see if it would be a good read aloud for my kids. Ultimately, I decided it was a bit intense for them, but still enjoyed it enough to finish. They are very quick reads with some stunning visuals. I found both the plot and world building allllll over the place.

[Erin Quick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this series as a kid and I love going back and rereading them occasionally.

[sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because my son read it and loved it and asked me to read it as well.

[Edison · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 6 books were 5 stars!

The last 3 were good.