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Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo #2
הרפתקאות ריקטי סטיץ' #2 - ערוץ אמצע הדרך
ריקטי סטיץ' הוא שלד. שלד מדבר וחושב, שלד מתגעגע ושר,
שלד שיש לו חבר, גוש ג'לטין אנושי ורגיש.
אחרי שניצלו מסכנות רבות, ריקטי והגוש נחושים למצוא את
אפולי, המקום ששוב ושוב מופיע בחלומותיו של השלד. ריקטי לא
זוכר מי היה פעם, כשעוד היה איש בשר ודם, אבל אין לו ספק
שבאפולי ימצא את התשובה. אז מה אם הדרך היחידה לאפולי
מלאה סכנות, פושעים, רמאים ומפלצות...
שלד שיש לו חבר, גוש ג'לטין אנושי ורגיש.
אחרי שניצלו מסכנות רבות, ריקטי והגוש נחושים למצוא את
אפולי, המקום ששוב ושוב מופיע בחלומותיו של השלד. ריקטי לא
זוכר מי היה פעם, כשעוד היה איש בשר ודם, אבל אין לו ספק
שבאפולי ימצא את התשובה. אז מה אם הדרך היחידה לאפולי
מלאה סכנות, פושעים, רמאים ומפלצות...
208 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2018
13 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
July 16, 2019
A dangerous stagecoach ride across deserts filled with killers and murders sets the stage for the 2nd volume of Rickety Stitch. Rickety is trying to remember something about himself and his past that seems important and it seems to have to do with Epoli, a lost city and civilization. Some goblins uncover a treasure that Rickety finds and it leads them chasing after the treasure and a mystery about everything.
This was a great volume. It was funny and my favorite part is when Rickety and Goo team up with a traveling group of minstrels going to a singing competition. They were the best. Totally my people.
Something I did learn from reading this is that looking back I now realize that while graphic novels are fun to read and full of art, for me personally, they don't stick in my mind the way a scene from a book will. I remember the novel much more than the graphic novel which slips from my mind with ease, but of course, that could just be school brain at this point.
This was a great volume. It was funny and my favorite part is when Rickety and Goo team up with a traveling group of minstrels going to a singing competition. They were the best. Totally my people.
Something I did learn from reading this is that looking back I now realize that while graphic novels are fun to read and full of art, for me personally, they don't stick in my mind the way a scene from a book will. I remember the novel much more than the graphic novel which slips from my mind with ease, but of course, that could just be school brain at this point.
March 2, 2021
My four year old is too young for this, but he's OBSESSED.
June 17, 2019
(Volume 1 review here)
Continuing from where the previous volume left off (Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo wandering around trying to find out about the "Road to Epoli" and what Rickety's weird dreams mean), our inhuman heroes get lost, get kidnapped, and eventually continue their quest.
On the plus side, this volume fleshes out the world of Eem a bit more, and gets Rickety and the Goo closer to their goal. On the slightly-less-positive side, the last two-thirds of the book felt like there was a lot of action and dialogue, making pages seem crowded and requiring a lot of pages for something that only advanced the overarching story a bit.
Not that it's a bad book--no--but it is very much part of the middle of the story. (The beginning of the middle, I hope--enough is revealed in this book to make me hope for a more in-depth look at Eem's history and plenty more adventures.)
Perhaps part of the problem is that unlike the previous book, where Ziggy the imp and L. Nerman Fuddle the gnome were interesting and endearing characters who played a crucial part in the plot, we don't get that same side-character connection to anyone here. Rickety Stitch and the Goo meet up with a small band who sticks around, but they're not given the depth or characterization needed to make the reader really enjoy them in the same was as the last book's side characters.
Still, it's a fun read for anyone who enjoyed the first book, and I look forward to more story reveals in the next.
Also, sometimes (rarely, but sometimes) I feel the need to clarify when my review needs to be read as a very personal review. This is one of those times. Rickety Stitch is one of those fun series that can appeal to kids and adults alike, and I think I'd have a more enthusiastic response if I was not only younger, but also hadn't read so freakin' many graphic novels in the past year. I've been reading a lot lately, and a lot over my life, and exposure starts to make me more critical. It's a good book, but I found it to be a bit less so than the first one.
Continuing from where the previous volume left off (Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo wandering around trying to find out about the "Road to Epoli" and what Rickety's weird dreams mean), our inhuman heroes get lost, get kidnapped, and eventually continue their quest.
On the plus side, this volume fleshes out the world of Eem a bit more, and gets Rickety and the Goo closer to their goal. On the slightly-less-positive side, the last two-thirds of the book felt like there was a lot of action and dialogue, making pages seem crowded and requiring a lot of pages for something that only advanced the overarching story a bit.
Not that it's a bad book--no--but it is very much part of the middle of the story. (The beginning of the middle, I hope--enough is revealed in this book to make me hope for a more in-depth look at Eem's history and plenty more adventures.)
Perhaps part of the problem is that unlike the previous book, where Ziggy the imp and L. Nerman Fuddle the gnome were interesting and endearing characters who played a crucial part in the plot, we don't get that same side-character connection to anyone here. Rickety Stitch and the Goo meet up with a small band who sticks around, but they're not given the depth or characterization needed to make the reader really enjoy them in the same was as the last book's side characters.
Still, it's a fun read for anyone who enjoyed the first book, and I look forward to more story reveals in the next.
Also, sometimes (rarely, but sometimes) I feel the need to clarify when my review needs to be read as a very personal review. This is one of those times. Rickety Stitch is one of those fun series that can appeal to kids and adults alike, and I think I'd have a more enthusiastic response if I was not only younger, but also hadn't read so freakin' many graphic novels in the past year. I've been reading a lot lately, and a lot over my life, and exposure starts to make me more critical. It's a good book, but I found it to be a bit less so than the first one.
December 15, 2018
I was kind of disappointed in this book, the second in the series. I enjoyed the first one at a deep level. I found it novel and funny and kind. This was kind of just meh. The visuals were great and the story kept moving forward, but there wasn't something deeply emotional that captivated me. In fact, I'm sure that if I didn't enjoy the first book so much I would have given this a higher rating. It just does not compare.
June 6, 2021
The second book in the Rickety Stitch graphic novel series. Would have rated it closer to 3.5 stars. In this second novel, things really begin to pick up, questions start to get answered, and many new questions form. It was an annoyance, quick read. The third just came up a few weeks ago but I will read it very soon. Not the best graphic novel I've ever read but far from the worst.
October 31, 2018
still so much fun. I love these characters. story moves a bit slow and now I have to wait a long time for another volume :(
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October 16, 2023Funny. Quick read.
November 4, 2018
I HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS. I WAS HELLA EXCITED.
Colors: Still bright, still vibrant.
Art: Just as awesome as before.
Characters: I can't say much for Goo, he's always been a good pal, and there for Rickety, dependable. Rickety, trying his best, is slowly becoming a better person. Yes, he's still heavily concerned with where he came from, who he used to be, why he exists, why he's so different. But he's also starting to care more about the history of where he came from, why no one else remembers anything, why people are trying to keep it a secret. He' starting to care about preservation and the people around him [he's not perfect at it yet, but he's getting better].
Plot: We were lost, then found, then kidnapped, then found again, then we were recruited for unpaid work, found some treasure, got gipped of said treasure, saw a giant spider, followed thieves to a town, joined a traveling band, went on something of a wild west style excursion to a city by the sea, got attacked by bandits, got attacked by evil knights, met someone else on a quest that crosses paths with our friends Rickety and Goo, and are STILL left with more questions than answers.
There's adventure, there's loss, there's sorrow, there's learning some bad parts about the past, of danger still lurking around the corners, morality is resolved, friends are gained, treasure is lost, but knowledge is found.
I recommend this to anyone; come read it, have a friend read it to you, I'll read it to you, just get this series into your brain.
I am dying for more, and we probably won't get the next installment until next year. Dangit.
Colors: Still bright, still vibrant.
Art: Just as awesome as before.
Characters: I can't say much for Goo, he's always been a good pal, and there for Rickety, dependable. Rickety, trying his best, is slowly becoming a better person. Yes, he's still heavily concerned with where he came from, who he used to be, why he exists, why he's so different. But he's also starting to care more about the history of where he came from, why no one else remembers anything, why people are trying to keep it a secret. He' starting to care about preservation and the people around him [he's not perfect at it yet, but he's getting better].
Plot: We were lost, then found, then kidnapped, then found again, then we were recruited for unpaid work, found some treasure, got gipped of said treasure, saw a giant spider, followed thieves to a town, joined a traveling band, went on something of a wild west style excursion to a city by the sea, got attacked by bandits, got attacked by evil knights, met someone else on a quest that crosses paths with our friends Rickety and Goo, and are STILL left with more questions than answers.
There's adventure, there's loss, there's sorrow, there's learning some bad parts about the past, of danger still lurking around the corners, morality is resolved, friends are gained, treasure is lost, but knowledge is found.
I recommend this to anyone; come read it, have a friend read it to you, I'll read it to you, just get this series into your brain.
I am dying for more, and we probably won't get the next installment until next year. Dangit.
November 3, 2018
The first Rickety Stitch volume was unexpectedly deep with some serious world-building for essentially being an extended play on Dungeons and Dragons conventions. I was even more pleasantly surprised by this second volume, which expands the world dramatically and ups the action by a significant percentage.
Rickety's strange journey to figure out who he was when he was alive takes him to a desert caravan that traverses the dreaded "Middle-Route." So, Mad Max for tweens, right? Basically! Between fighting off raiders, making up songs, and palling around with the Gelatinous Goo, Rickety makes several attempts to acquire a treasure that might reveal secrets about the world of Epoli. There's a lot going on here, but Ben Costa does a great job of letting it all play out naturally, so the tale is well-paced, never hectic. The art is also incredible - cartoony, but with plenty of creative flourishes that make the world feel exciting and intriguing.
A thrilling, cliffhanger conclusion ensures that there'll be more Rickety Stitch in the future. Two volumes in to this surprising delight of a series, I'm eager to find out what's next.
Rickety's strange journey to figure out who he was when he was alive takes him to a desert caravan that traverses the dreaded "Middle-Route." So, Mad Max for tweens, right? Basically! Between fighting off raiders, making up songs, and palling around with the Gelatinous Goo, Rickety makes several attempts to acquire a treasure that might reveal secrets about the world of Epoli. There's a lot going on here, but Ben Costa does a great job of letting it all play out naturally, so the tale is well-paced, never hectic. The art is also incredible - cartoony, but with plenty of creative flourishes that make the world feel exciting and intriguing.
A thrilling, cliffhanger conclusion ensures that there'll be more Rickety Stitch in the future. Two volumes in to this surprising delight of a series, I'm eager to find out what's next.
January 21, 2019
Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo : The Middle-Route Run by Ben Costa and James Parks 208 pages GRAPHIC NOVEL Alfred A. Knopf 2018 $20.99.
Language: PG (2 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (sword play, battles)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Rickety Stitch is captured by a witch who uses his skeleton arm to reanimate what turns out to be the minion of the Gloom King - bad idea. The witch restores Rickety's arm with a different one - so he's got that skeleton's memories and an arm that digs and digs and digs. Now, this arm has a mind of its own and has dug it's way into another adventure, as Rickety and Goo search for more clues about what happened to them and why he is a walking, talking skeleton.
Another grand adventure! No mature content in this one, just great battles, surprise villains and heroes and another fine mess for Rickety and Goo. Includes an appendix with a link to listen to the songs online and a description of the creatures. Such a fun series, I hope they keep coming!
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
Language: PG (2 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (sword play, battles)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Rickety Stitch is captured by a witch who uses his skeleton arm to reanimate what turns out to be the minion of the Gloom King - bad idea. The witch restores Rickety's arm with a different one - so he's got that skeleton's memories and an arm that digs and digs and digs. Now, this arm has a mind of its own and has dug it's way into another adventure, as Rickety and Goo search for more clues about what happened to them and why he is a walking, talking skeleton.
Another grand adventure! No mature content in this one, just great battles, surprise villains and heroes and another fine mess for Rickety and Goo. Includes an appendix with a link to listen to the songs online and a description of the creatures. Such a fun series, I hope they keep coming!
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
August 19, 2018
Still haunted by visions that don't make sense to him, Rickety Stitch, a skeleton that plays an instrument and sings, continues to search for the answers to his origin and identity. He and his friend, Gelatinous Goo, have to help each other escape from one perilous situation after another. What with a witch named Magga intent on grinding up his bones, an untrustworthy taskmaster intent on stealing treasure that belongs to someone else, and a chance encounter with Epoli, who is determined to bring the treasure back to her people for its intended purposes, Rickety Stitch has a tough time surviving the Middle-Route Run. Good thing he meets some other musicians and has extraordinarily good luck. The panels in this graphic novel are colorful and filled with action aplenty, and readers will be racing through the pages to see what sort of strange villains and possible heroes will turn up next.
July 24, 2018
Middle-Route Run is the second in the series for Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo. Many people have been filing this as a middle grade read, but I would strongly advise against that as there were, in the first book, a few adult jokes that tweens won't get but their parents might complain about.
The art and humor of this story are it's key selling points as the story follows Rickety Stitch, a bard skeleton, on a journey to remember his life from before a lich raised him as an undead. There is an undercurrent in this story that hints at deeper lore, which might frustrate some readers who want to know the full story upfront rather than having to piece together some context clues as well as hints from character expressions and reading between the lines of their dialog.
I would highly recommend this story to high schoolers and older.
The art and humor of this story are it's key selling points as the story follows Rickety Stitch, a bard skeleton, on a journey to remember his life from before a lich raised him as an undead. There is an undercurrent in this story that hints at deeper lore, which might frustrate some readers who want to know the full story upfront rather than having to piece together some context clues as well as hints from character expressions and reading between the lines of their dialog.
I would highly recommend this story to high schoolers and older.
February 9, 2019
Rickety Stitch is a walking skeleton, blessed with much more personality than his kind usually have, but plagued by dark dreams of a undead army and a terrible Lich King. He and his best friend, the Gelatinous Goo, are on a quest to find the source and meaning of these dreams which they believe lies in a nearly forgotten kingdom called Epoli. In this volume they stumble into a construction site which has uncovered pieces of Epoli's ancient treasure. But as soon as they glimpse it it is stolen by the minions of a petty goblin merchant running a caravan across the continent. Rickety and Goo get on board with a party of musicians, but the caravan is repeatedly attacked by bandits and black knights. With so many enemies and competing motives in the way, will Rickety ever find the answers he's searching for?
December 15, 2018
A truly fantastic story, in the tradition of Jeff Smith's Bone. Rickety Stitch, a walking talking skeleton, and his companion are on a quest to find out who Rickety Stitch was in life. He thinks it had something to do with a great knight and a long lost land called Epoli. But his memories, when he has them, are confusing at best. In this leg of the story he is captured by a witch, finds himself among a goblin's epic dig, chases down berried treasure, is taken into a band of merry buskers, and heads out in a caravan across a great and treacherous expanse! Great fun! I was able to pick up the story from book two, but this promises to be a long series, so you're going to have to invest no matter what and I figure you might as well buy the first book.
June 25, 2018
A solid continuation of the first volume, widening the world of Eem in interesting ways and driving the mystery of Epoli. The play on corporate culture is a solid wellspring of humor, as is the character-driven action. The focus of an adventure story on non-warrior characters is especially relatable when the action gets intense and fear rather than bloodlust guides the protagonist, although the fighters do get some very acute characterization.
August 8, 2018
I really like seeing more of Rickety's origins and the cast of colorful, fun characters makes every scene play out like a movie. I like the mature tone taken with the story, meaning there is violence, existential crisis, and an even a sole curse word without feeling like "ooh, this story is sooo edgy." I just admire the all-ages quality this story has.
Not to mention the artwork and coloring are A1.
Not to mention the artwork and coloring are A1.
October 13, 2018
A great continuation of the first book! The story continues along a bit with some serious points, but we get a few weird side adventures & meet lots of fun new characters. Seriously this is one of the best adventure-fantasy-humor-graphic series I've seen in a long while. Highly recommended, especially for D&D kids!
August 30, 2018
A great continuation of this series - lots of humor (thankfully) to lighten up some pretty serious plot and dark circumstances. Still kid focused and friendly, but the adult in me does appreciate the ongoing plot!
October 5, 2018
A solid and enjoyable story! Rickety makes some new friends and foes. Deeper motives are revealed and new sideplots kicked off. There's a nice western stagecoach feel to this one; give it a try if you're up for an adventure!
November 17, 2018
Rickety Stitch Is such a fun character! I play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder and this series still feels like an elaborate/entertaining campaign, and the DM is letting the characters have some lax rules but great story telling
September 24, 2018
It was packed with so much action, and Adventure. I loved it.
October 7, 2018
Aight, I'm in. Great world-building.
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October 8, 2018
This is such an odd series... but I love every second of it. It's a very unique and original world, and I'm desperate for the next volume. Will they ever get to Epoli?!
November 15, 2018
Such a fun series, I hope they keep coming! Check out my full review at http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
December 2, 2018
Though I did enjoy this more than the previous book, I still can't get that into this series. I don't find Rickety Stitch (or the Goo) a particularly compelling character.
December 31, 2018
The adventure continues! A must read for fans of the Bone series.
May 17, 2019
So fun. So colorful. Hilarious in places, with great storytelling throughout. I love this series.
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February 23, 2026How? I'm getting the RPG, so want to read the source.
What? Rickety, a talking skeleton, is still searching for Epoli to unravel the mystery of his past. In this volume that includes:
- getting lost
- meeting a witch who wants his bones to revive her dead dog, which goes poorly and results in Rickety getting a new skeleton arm
- the skeleton arm digging, dropping them into a mine where he meets his old boss and gets involved in a treasure hunt
- following the treasure to a mean town, but finding some nice other musicians to join, who then get hired for this big caravan ride
- caravan adventures, including raiders, thieves, and knights who work for the big bad guy -- and also a heroic knight errant who wants to remind people of the Golden Age, that things can be good again.
Yeah, so? Honestly, I picked this up recently because it's due back at the library; and the opening half is a little ... not exactly aimless, but episodic, even as episodes cleanly lead into each other. It's all enjoyable and fun, and somewhere around the time of the mine adventure -- when everyone is talking about companies boring tunnels and making new investments -- I was reminded of what a weird fantasy world this is. Which is probably why the ending really hit, with the idea that this golden treasure isn't just gold (as it is for some people) but a reminder that things can be different. I don't want Rickety to be an epic battle between good and evil, I like that it's shaggy and weird, but maybe we/I need more stories of good fighting evil these days.
What? Rickety, a talking skeleton, is still searching for Epoli to unravel the mystery of his past. In this volume that includes:
- getting lost
- meeting a witch who wants his bones to revive her dead dog, which goes poorly and results in Rickety getting a new skeleton arm
- the skeleton arm digging, dropping them into a mine where he meets his old boss and gets involved in a treasure hunt
- following the treasure to a mean town, but finding some nice other musicians to join, who then get hired for this big caravan ride
- caravan adventures, including raiders, thieves, and knights who work for the big bad guy -- and also a heroic knight errant who wants to remind people of the Golden Age, that things can be good again.
Yeah, so? Honestly, I picked this up recently because it's due back at the library; and the opening half is a little ... not exactly aimless, but episodic, even as episodes cleanly lead into each other. It's all enjoyable and fun, and somewhere around the time of the mine adventure -- when everyone is talking about companies boring tunnels and making new investments -- I was reminded of what a weird fantasy world this is. Which is probably why the ending really hit, with the idea that this golden treasure isn't just gold (as it is for some people) but a reminder that things can be different. I don't want Rickety to be an epic battle between good and evil, I like that it's shaggy and weird, but maybe we/I need more stories of good fighting evil these days.
January 27, 2019
Rickety Stitch, a living skeleton, roams the Middle-Route as an adventurous minstrel with his sentient gelatinous goo sidekick. High fantasy, humor, and adventure are depicted in the panels of this graphic novel. The pair battle spiders, raiders and beasts. Rickety is searching for the Epoli in hopes of learning his identity before becoming a skeleton. A song seems to be his only clue but the reader will notice some foreshadowing. Middle schoolers may find Rickty’s antics amusing and Goo’s steadfast support comforting in this ongoing adventure.
November 12, 2019
Love this series! So funny, so punny, so perfect. The mix of suspense, adventure, and search for identity are great for readers 12+. I was both disappointed and not that there seemed to be no ending to book #2. No questions were answered and no adventure was finished - at least not to me. Everything is left WIIIIIDE open for books 3-5 (if that many follow), but i wanted some kind of resolution like I had in book #1. A small let down for the cop out, but that's okay. The entertainment, characters, and storytelling are making up for it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews