Buyan: Isle of the Dead

by Martin Etxeberria, Xabier Etxeberria, Aritz Trueba (Illustrator)

Set in the midst of the Mongolian invasion of medieval Russia, Buyan tells a powerful story of love and loss as one man embarks on a dangerous quest, fighting his way through soldiers, spirits, and even ancient gods in a desperate attempt to be reunited with his wife. 

The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu, and his Golden Horde have just begun a ruthless march across Siberia. Batu intends to spread his Mongolian empire all the way to Europe and to conquer the great city of Novgorod. Meanwhile, the Teutonic Knights of Europe spread the Crusades eastward, burning cities one by one in their unstoppable advance. But in the midst of all this fighting, a small village in Nenetsia is attacked, and a simple hunter named Maansi tragically loses the love of his life. 

Determined to be reunited with his wife, Maansi travels toward the sea in search of the mythical island of the dead—Buyan. But the path to Buyan is fraught with not only bloodthirsty warriors and religious zealots, but also ancient spirits who have been angered by the war as well as the unforgiving gods of old. Still, desperate to see his wife’s face again, Maansi will not let anything stand in the way of his quest to find Buyan. 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2019

Reviews

[Cookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawings and colours are great but in true french comic fashion, the story, while interesting, is underdevelopped.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buyan is a hefty tome, with BIG art, weak characters, a tangled plot, and plenty of Middle Ages battle action. Obviously, the first and last piece there are the selling points. The circa 1200s world of Rus and the Golden Horde are well depicted, if not well explained. The handful of main characters swoop around on their various mysterious quests while the big picture politics are mostly forgotten.

The arrival of fantasy beasts towards the end caught me by surprise, though it did give Buyan more of a Miyazaki vibe, which I appreciated. As with most translated French graphic tomes, it's a pleasant time-passer and a bit of a head-scratcher.

[⋊ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stunning artwork wrapping an unfinished fable that leaves much to be desired.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will completely transparent in saying that the main reason I decided to bring this graphic novel home was because it was on display at my library and the cover is great. And, for a nice change, judging a book by its cover worked out rather well for me.

This graphic novel skims over the surface of a few Slavic myths and legends and teaches us a bit about of their rich history. I liked that the novel was able to integrate the myths and legends without being overcome by them, I also like that it didn't stop to explain anything-- this shows that they have confidence in their story and that they trust their audience.

I'm just going to get my favourite parts of the story out of the way first.
Spoiler
It takes a lot for me to like a plot twist and to not see something coming, so I really liked that I was the twists took me by surprise. I understand that a lot of my surprise probably came from my ignorance of Slavic culture, but we all start somewhere right? Whenever a dog is involved in story form I always gear myself for its death (just in case), but I really liked how the dog was used in this context. Even though animal companions aren't the most original thing, spiritual or otherwise, I thought holding back on revealing Noho's true nature took the entire narrative to the next level and added real excitement. I also loved how bogatyrs were integrated into the story. I think just enough is revealed about them to know that they are skilled warriors but enough information is held back so that they remain mysterious figures.

At first I wasn't sure about the Buyan perspective randomly embedded throughout the pages, but the more I learned about what Buyan actually is and what it represents, the more the narrations made sense to me. The images of Buyan are certainly beautiful, but more than that I think having the perspective gives this impression that life and the loss of life are realities that are ever present in the minds of the characters even though the "physical" place of Buyan vanishes only to appear again somewhere else.

Though the illustration style was not my favourite and I thought the large text made the entire work look childish, I liked the colour pallet used across the board. I could really tell that they thought about the atmosphere of each page and how colour could be used to optimize different moods across the panels.

There are times I think the transitions from one perspective to another could be smoother and more clearly defined, and I think sometimes the narrative seems messy because all the plot lines flow into the overall arc in a somewhat disjointed way.. but I really enjoyed this graphic novel and will judge books by there covers more often haha.

8/10

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much to love here. Large format, full colour, panels that look like storyboards. There’s even a map and a glossary, for context and background. All that is enough to raise the expectations.
This volume is all beginning and setup, without going anywhere. The journey of the title just gets going, and then it is over. There is no journey.
But there’s lots of history! And context.

[Elle Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is visually stunning, incredibly researched and beautifully written. I felt privileged to enter this world of ancient spirits, historical figures and bands of hungry warriors, but just as I felt we were getting into something good, the story ended and while I enjoyed what I did read, I wanted so much more. 4 stars for the set-up and style and characters but could've been a five star read.

[Maïlis M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the art and the story, it was almost a 5star review, but it felt like the story would have deserved more space and maybe be a duology. Basically, I wanted more.

[Elysia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many of the other reviews of this graphic novel, the art is beautiful, the premise is promising, and the history is interesting..however I feel like it could have been..more. What I thought I was going to read didn't really happen and just when I thought the story was going somewhere it finished. Although, I really enjoyed all the context provided from the map and the glossary especially as I haven't really been introduced to Slavic folklore and history before.
Gotta hand it to the artist because it's very beautiful to look at and the cover is what drew my attention, especially with that wolf on the cover!

[Codepoetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This visually stunning historically-inspired fantasy story features knights and mythic beasts influenced by Slavic legends and lore. Slavic history plays a huge part in the story which can be confusing unless you are familiar with Slavic history. The story itself was well done, but felt rushed towards the end.

[Nathaniel R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want more. I want to see ending to the story of Maansi, the ending of Nestor and of the angry gods, I want to see the fictionalized account of the battles that occurred between the Golden Horde. I want the creators to keep making me feel for all the characters they introduce to us, and make me continue to wish for their suffering to cease.

Would recommend.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Excellent artwork. However, very thin plot. As in almost nonexistent. The stars are for the artwork but stars taken off for not having a plot.

[Aaraiika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una historia que a mí personalmente me ha llegado al corazon, tiene una manera metforica de enseñar la muerte y el duelo que la verdad me parece fascinante.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

[Igor Gonzalez Conde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Euskerako edizioa nahiko ondo dago. Baina istorioa ez da amaitzen eta ez dago bigarren parterik.

[Jonas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heureusement que les illus sont belles parce bon...

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art, some gorgeous passages, and a rich story. I really enjoyed this.

[Juan José · Rating 4 out of 5]

El dibujo a veces se me hacía ramplón, y es una pena que aparentemente no haya continuación, pero en general me ha molado

[Maddi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oso marrazki politak, baina istorioa oso labur geratzen da, garapenik gabe apenas. Edonola ere, pentsatzen det historia zaleak direnei gustatu lekiekeela.