The moment I saw there was to be a graphic novel adaptation of a Stephen and Owen King novel I had to read it. Now, I will admit to not having read the full novel yet (that thing is HUGE and I'm a bit intimidated by it if I'm honest) but now that I have the beginnings of the story under my belt in this more 'digestible' format I'm even more curious to read it in its original form.
I will say this graphic novel is not for the faint of heart. It isn't 'pretty' in any conventional sense, it isn't 'light reading' either, it is brutal and violent and tragic and graphic in the extreme. All the trigger warnings.
Horror is very much my go-to genre when it comes to graphic novels. I read almost exclusively horror in this format, and I infrequently read horror any other way (Stephen King is perhaps the only exception, but even then, those are few and far between). So I knew at least the genre was going to suit me, and I found the story compelling too; "A bizarre sleeping sickness, known as Aurora, has fallen over the world, and strangest of all, it only affects women. In the small town of Dooling, a mysterious woman has walked out of the woods; she calls herself Eve and leaves a trail of carnage behind her. More mysterious: she's the only woman not falling asleep."
I have seen a lot of reviewers have found this book confusing, it swaps between places and characters without warning, and it simply expects you to keep up. It doesn't explain everything in the text, you genuinely have to read the pictures too, or you'll miss too much of what is going on. You have to pay attention, there is no skim reading here, but if you can get into the groove with it then it is a promising start to the series for sure.
I found the art style to be fitting to the genre and the story being told, it is messy, it is scratchy, and unclean, but that does suit the story being told, and it helps to evoke the mood and atmosphere of the book. If you are at all familiar with Wytches (by Scott Snyder with art by Jock) or with Gideon Falls (by Jeff Lemire with art by Andrea Sorrentino), then the art here is somewhere between the two, and somehow takes that unclean style even further.
Overall I enjoyed the ride with this one, I'm super intrigued by Eve and I would for sure read more to find out what else this tale has in store. I did find the beginning just a little sluggish to get into, but once I found my stride it was an enjoyable read. I feel this has probably lost quite a lot of the original novel in translation, so I can't rate this higher as a stand-alone piece, but I am definitely more compelled to pick up the novel now and look forward to the next graphic novel installment.
3.5 intense stars.
Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and IDW for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.