The Shadows of Thule

by Patrick Mallet, Lionel Marty (Illustrator), Axel Gonzalbo (Colorist)

When a Roman general, manipulated by a necromancer, decides to awaken an ancient plague, enemy clans must join forces to save the world as they know it.

Scotland, 2nd century AD. The Roman conquest stopped at Antonine's wall; beyond it lay the lands of the Gaels, and even further north, the wild hills of the Pictish people. When a Roman general, manipulated by a necromancer, decides to awaken an ancient plague and unleash it on the north, Cormak Mac Fianna, the last king of the Picts, unites his tribes to fight. But compared with the unstoppable Shadows from the ancient island of Thulé, their power pales and yesterday's enemies must join forces.

For everyone, from the child to the king, from the scholar to the warrior, will have to fight against these titanic forces in a final battle for the survival of their world.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Dark Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Magic

144 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2023

Reviews

[Tawfek · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Shadows of Thule comes out today, i ll share this through out the day for those who are interested)

He often told me that handling and bending steel, wasn't nearly as taxing as trying to reason with men...

I Received this Graphic Novel ARC in exchange for an honest review, Thanks to the creative team, and NetGalley, and Humanoids for giving me this opportunity.
This will come out 15 Aug 2023, Tune in, if you are looking forward to a nightmarish fantasy twist on history, that bets humanity against one of our ancestors worst fears.

Me and Humanoids we are tight, even though my first ever review with them, i thought the art was not unique at all, and couldn't care less for it except the covers, and they kept accepting my requests, and to be honest, reading a few of the negative reviews (all of them) i thought this was going to turn out horrible, i was sadly prepared to give this 1 or 2 stars, specially if that no plot claim turned out to be true.
Gladly though, this is the first time i am happy, that many readers still don't know what the fuck does a plot even mean, because we have one and it's a great one here.

Plot is the sequence of connected events that make up a narrative in a novel. Generally, a plot in fiction builds up to a climax and ends in a resolution at the finish of the story.

The essay also says, that there needs to be a causality, an event happening, and the subsequent event is caused by it, a sequence of events and causality, it's not even hidden here, everything that was happening caused something else to happen, nothing was put in this graphic novel as a fan service, or as a filler, everything turned out to lead to something else, that eventually lead to the climax of the story.

Now enough of that, this was actually approved for me 3 weeks ago, when i stopped reading and took a hiatus of 2 weeks, so actual reading time of this is more like 3 days.
Why the minus star? Those were the ugliest looking babies + Kids i ever saw drawn, the kids had faces fit for adults, they were big and rough, my skin is more delicate than the kids depicted here i swear.

Saying that, this is one of the most detailed and busy art panels i ever saw since Berserk the manga, and Gantz, and probably I am A hero, and that's really rare, western action comics, are not known for details, and busy panels, that you can take a few minutes just going over everyone's expression, and who they are fighting and which body part they just pierced... with their weapon of course, it's rare to the point i thought it doesn't exist, the shadows of Thule, really delivers that and it was a pleasant surprise for me, that i noticed in the very first pages of the ambush.

This was a fantasy historical story, that involved the Picts, the Romans, the Gaels, i didn't really like the first 40 pages, because the story was wide open at that part, you really did not know if there was a plot, or if anything was connected at all, but we are judging an entire novel, not the opening sequence, that in a very short time, unfolded to reveal an intricate story, The Magic aspect of the story was among the best i have ever read, i was blown away by such nightmarish beauty, In the minds of past denizens of our world, they feared Magic because they thought it had that kind of power, the power to open up a gate between our world, and some hideous monstrosity of a world that could engulf and overwhelm us, Nowadays dumb people fear science instead...

Don't let your lust for revenge blind you, that is the surest way to lose oneself.

This felt to me, like a nightmare story, right out of the world of Berserk By Kentaru Miura, with very unique monstrosities, and with an actual ending, and organized struggle.

As usual with ARCs that has not been released yet, i can't reveal anything that happened in the story, because i would honestly feel like i don't want to read a novel for a long while, if i read a review that told me everything that will happen in it, so i write to intrigue, critique, and shower the creative team with praise, you never know what i ll do.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly better than the average Humanoids release in my experience. Bonus points for sending its Conan-esque Pictish hero into a giant tree via a vagina-like apperture to get it on with a Celtic goddess for (checks notes) three entire days while his followers faithfully hang around outside.


You can always tell which one is the Roman Main Character because he has his helmet off.

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story looks as if Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith tossed ideas around and wrote it during their letter exchanging days. It's obviously a love letter of sorts by Mallet and Marty to them and many other writers, artists and movie directors.
Story is good, we have Eldritch horrors, Romans, Picts, Gaels and Thuleans. Ancients gods and goddess'. All of that set north of Antonine Wall.
However, art is something that is really lacking here. Marty's men are pretty much all the same, his babies are grotesque (for the lack of a better term, but fitting nonetheless) and there's too much blood splashing for effect only.
If the art was better, this would be a much better comic book which will be more valued by fans of Lovecraft and Howard.

[Adrian Montanez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kull The Conqueror meets Lovecraftian Horrors in this beautifully drawn graphic novel set in the days of the Roman occupation in the British Isles.

The Shadows of Thule written by Patrick Mallet, with art by Lionel Marty is a story featuring Gauls, Picts, Romans, magic, giants, and eldritch beasts that lay beyond the stones, waiting for their chance to destroy everything. The setting is Scotland, and the time is the second century AD. Rumors of a creature imprisoned by magic begin to grow. Stories from long in the past, are slowly coming true, even as they're ignored by both Kings and druids. Enemies are forced to start to look at each other as allies, gathering their forces in order to stop a force that even the most powerful of giants struggled to defeat. A threat that could bring an end to everything. Seals are shattered, sides are drawn, the old generation gives way to the new and must put their differences aside lest it lead to the end of an Empire or even the entire world.

This story reminds me of the old Seventies Robert E. Howard comics, sprinkled with some history and Lovecraftian horror to bring out both Mallet's and Marty's vision. Given that I just started reading them this year, this GN feels like it was written for me. The story while confusing due to some historical events which I had no knowledge of, was still as compelling as all of those old Sword and Sorcery comics from the seventies. The art makes it so that I'm easily transported to the carefully crafted world that Mallet and Marty have created. My only question would be why do most of the secondary characters look the same? When I read the seventies comics and see the same problem, I unconsciously put it down to an effect of the times. But reading this I don't know if it was Marty paying homage to those old comics from where the team got their inspiration, or if it's his style. But other than that nitpick, this is a beautifully drawn original graphic novel that both Patrick Mallet and Lionel Marty should be proud of.

Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc. for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars out of 5.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC from Netgalley.

This was really a stinker. I guess the art was serviceable in that it got the basics of human anatomy down, but it was big-bosomed ladies and mighty-thewed squared-jawed expressionless swordsmen all the way down. The monster was cool. Not much in the way of plot.

[La licorne bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alors que la conquête romaine s'enlise en Grande-Bretagne, un général romain manipulé par une sorcière relâche un fléau ancestral pour se venger de la mort de sa femme et de son fils. Ce dernier est en fait adopté par les Pictes.

Une BD très étrange qui propose un mélange d'inspiration lovecraftienne et howardienne, le tout dans un contexte de conquête romaine avec Pictes et Gaëls. Le dessin est correct mais le scénario, assez intéressant dans la première partie, m'a parfois un peu perdu par la suite. Une BD qui passe le temps mais que je n'irai pas acheter pour pouvoir spécifiquement la relire (il s'agissait d'un prêt).

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Humanoids Inc for an advance copy of this graphic novel set in the days of the Roman occupation of the British Isles and the ancient evil that lay hidden away.

The place is Scotland, and the time is the second century AD. Rumors of a creature imprisoned by magic begin to grow. Stories from long in the past, ignored by Kings, pshawed by druids, are slowly coming true. Enemies begin to look at each other as allies, gathering forces to stop a force that even the most powerful of giants were once hard pressed to beat. All to defeat a threat that could be the end of all, even the Roman invaders. As stones are shattered, sides are drawn, the old give way to the young and put aside differences that might lead to the end of an Empire, or even the entire world. The Shadows of Thule written by Patrick Mallet, with art by Lionel Marty is a story featuring Gauls, Picts, Romans, magic, giants, and eldritch beasts that lay beyond the stones, waiting for their chance to destroy everything.

A woman rides in a military convoy of Romans, assured that she will see her husband, and give birth by his side. The woman is wrong, and her death by magical creature will set off a long standing plan to destroy an empire. The mother dead, a baby boy is found living, brought home to leave with his new people, but never feeling one of the them. Years later another boy makes a deal with the Gauls for his sister, telling them that soon the tribes who fight among each other so much will find cause to join together. A story that stays with the Gaul King. A wizard kidnapped and killed by the Romans is brought back to life by a sorceress who is far older than people think, seeking revenge for her people's destruction. The wizard tells of the creature behind the stones, and that blood is needed to bring it back. And blood it shall have. Soon these forces all will meet, in blood, friendship, betrayal, and fear for what lies beyond the stones.

Not a story for all readers, this is more a throwback to seventies European comics, Conan-like stories. In fact the main King looks a lot like Conan, especially when he enters a sort of berserker-mode. The story is a little complicated, especially if one is not familiar with early Scottish and English history. And the Picts and Gauls do look a lot alike so that can be a little hard to figue out who is who. The best description really is Conan meets Lovecraft, with a lot mo history. The art is sword and sorcery style, big men, lots of blood, comely women in a lot of robes and lots of blood again. Lots of beheadings, arrows to the head, slashing. The backgrounds are good, the characters are consistent, and the creatures from beyond are quite grotesque and other worldly.

For fans of early fantasy stories, and for fans of European comics. Conan fans might want more Conan-like moments, but the story is close enough to a Robert E. Howard story that a lot of fans might enjoy it.

[Gregory Mele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was metal!

A definite love song to everything from Robert E. Howard and Lovecraft to Simon Bisley, Richard Corben, and the glory days of AD 2000 and Heavy Metal, The Shadows of Thule is cleanly translated from the French and beautifully illustrated and bound in an oversize/album-size (remember THAT term!) case-binding that does credit to the larger than life story within.

Spoilers free: This is a two-act sword & sorcery adventure set in Scotland, c. 185 AD, that pits Picts and Gaels, both under attack by the Roman advance from Hadrian's wall to the Antonine wall, against eldritch horrors. About as Weird Tales as you are going to get!

Slightly less spoilers free, but no big reveals.

The story is written in two parts, as noted, each named for one of the two female characters--the first a centuries-old sorceress, out for revenge against Rome; the second her young, Pictish foil. However, both women are part of a larger ensemble of both heroes and villains, that includes kings and chieftains, Roman generals, Romano-British soldiers, turncoats, members of the lost race of giants, and even a goddess. It's pretty kitchen sink, so it is surprising how well Mallet keeps his narrative together.

There are two prologues that set the story in motion--one two or three hundred years in the past, another 19 years before the main story. Both are crucial plot devices, though they could probably have been told in flashbacks or in story reveals, and nothing would have been lost. As it is, the second prologue sets us up to think this story will be about one thing, when really, it turns out to be a subplot that goes a very different way.

Part One is the tighter of the two halves and reads like a pastiche Bran Mak Morn pastiche (and the Picts herein are clearly *Howard's* Picts, not those of history), and the Pictish king Cormak (another name often used by Howard), might as well be called Bran. This isn't a bad thing -- it's good pastiche, and if the climactic finale had occurred then, it would have felt very much like an REH homage.

Part Two is more interesting, though also more uneven. There is the slightest touch of Arthuriana and Celtic myths darker shadows (no Arthur and his myth cycle do not figure in this story), and DEFINITELY feels like an homage to some of the great S&S comics of the 80s, like SLAINE. Unfortunately, this also means the narrative becomes more episodic and also spends a lot of time on visually beautiful fight scenes that don't, however, really do much for the story itself, and at least one of the episodes really turns out to be dead-end. Nevertheless, Mallet sticks the landing and the story ends with a satisfying and definite resolution.

Overall a fun ride, worth reading!

[Andrew Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A warrior must use only his sword to defeat his enemies. Sorcery is the weapon of cowards." - Thorfel

Book 1: Ithome
Book 2: Brydia

The Gaels, Picts, and Celts have spent ages in tribal conflict, but now is the era of Roman conquest. Behind the scenes of tribalism and elite civility are the shadowy figures of sorcery and secret-keepers.

This is best read in one or two subsequent sittings, because the flow suffers if you put it down and come back to it. This seems to be an homage in many respects but it also suffers from lack of originality in that regard, as I felt a degree of deja vu throughout. For some examples, not only does the setup for the last king of the Picts resemble Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn, the character's "sexual sacrifice" is vaguely familiar to Bran's in his episode with the were-woman witch Atla in 'Worms of the Earth', where he also obtains supernatural help to defeat his enemy, though Bran's enemy is Rome and Cormac's is more than just Rome. The transfer of warriors from different ages is similar to 'Kings of the Night' featuring Kull and Bran. The Thulesians sailing away to another plane reminds me of Tolkien's Elven races and the Gray Havens but that may be a bit of a stretch. Ultimately, it was interesting for a read-through, and the art did best in its aggressive demonic faces and cosmic horror shots. The combining of Romans, Gaels, and Picts made for an interesting band-of-brothers feel.

Deities/Beings:
- Baal - invoked by a Carthage necromancer
- Baran, dark lord of the sunless land - invoked by Picts
- Cernunnos - invoked by Gaels and a Celt soldier of Rome
- Enoch/Eoch - invoked by Picts
- Juno - invoked by Romans
- Jupiter - invoked by Romans
- Mars - invoked by Romans
- The Morrigan - invoked by Gaels

[Angelica Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I want to thank netgalley for providing me with this graphic novel.

When a Roman general, manipulated by a necromancer, decides to awaken an ancient plague, enemy clans must join forces to save the world as they know it.

Scotland, 2nd century AD. The Roman conquest stopped at Antonine's wall; beyond it lay the lands of the Gaels, and even further north, the wild hills of the Pictish people. When a Roman general, manipulated by a necromancer, decides to awaken an ancient plague and unleash it on the north, Cormak Mac Fianna, the last king of the Picts, unites his tribes to fight. But compared with the unstoppable Shadows from the ancient island of Thule, their power pales and yesterday's enemies must join forces.

The story begins with a Roman woman starting her carriage from an attack, believing that she had managed to save herself and her unborn baby, she is stabbed by the corpse of one of her soldiers who swore to protect her, for things in life the baby manages to born and is raised by the enemy tribes of the Romans, growing up all his life without knowing who his real parents are.
Meanwhile, the Roman people prepare for war with the help of a witch, but not everyone trusts her. and it is that she has her own agenda.

At some point they will all find themselves in a war beyond anything known to man.

The story starts out very strong, it doesn't come to blunts, and as it progresses it shows us that it is not a soft story, on the contrary it even has a bit of gore, it shows a lot and I like it, it goes along with the story.
I recommend it, yes, but not to read in one sitting, read it calmly, give yourself your time.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

[Yoshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

POPKulturowy Kociołek:
Cienie z Thule przenoszą nas do starożytnej Szkocji z II wieku naszej ery. Na ziemiach tych trwa wyniszczająca i krwawa wojna pomiędzy ludami Piktów i Galów oraz rzymskim najeźdźcom. Przedłużający się konflikt nie jest na rękę generałowi Horacjuszowi, który chciałby szybko zakończyć podbój. Za namową pewnej wiedźmy uwalnia on więc prastare zło (tytułowe Cienie), które ma zniszczyć jego wrogów. Walkę z mrocznym zagrożeniem podejmuje Cormak Mac Fiann, który chcąc odnieść sukces, będzie musiał zjednoczyć zwaśnione plemiona i sięgnąć po siłę, o której wszyscy już zapomnieli.

Jak zostało wspomniane na samym wstępie recenzji scenarzysta Patrick Mallet oraz rysownik Lionel Marty tworząc swoje dzieło, wzorowali się na twórczości dwóch legend (Lovecrafta i Roberta E. Howarda). Inspiracje te zresztą są już mocno widoczne w samej okładce komiksu. Każdy, kto zdecyduje się sięgnąć po ten tytuł, otrzyma tu więc mieszankę fantazyjnej grozy z heroic fantasy i jest to miks naprawdę bardzo przyjemny w odbiorze.

Mniej lub bardziej oczywiste nawiązania do klasyki to jedna strona komiksu. Autor kreśli tu także historię pełną licznych zwrotów akcji. Jego dzieło potrafi również mocno trzymać w napięciu. Jest to zasługa umiejętnego dawkowania informacji o pradawnej sile, co jest świetnie połączone z brutalną, krwawą otoczką trwającej wojny....

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/cieni...

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids, Inc. for an e-ARC version of The Shadows of Thule.

From the description, I thought this sounded like an interesting concept - the setting takes place in Scotland during the time of Roman occupation. An ancient evil has long since been banished from this world, but dark forces are seeking to release it back into this plane.

Regretfully, the storytelling/dialogue did not hold up to my expectations. I felt the back-and-forth between characters was choppy and stilted. Everything seemed to plod along in a predictable manner and there was nothing new or refreshing about the story.

The graphics were alright (certainly better than the text), but I do feel there is still room for improvement here as well. Many of the characters look very similar (most of the men are depicted with the stereotypical square jaw and hulking forms, while the women are in robes and have large breasts), which makes it difficult to differentiate between the characters. I do think the depiction of the monsters was good.

All this being said, I would not continue reading this series in the future.

Again, thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids, Inc. for the ARC.

[Mykhailo Gasyuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Давньобританське ктулхівництво. Колись британські тубільці разом із міфічними велетнями закрили портали в інший світ, звідки на Землю перла орда тентаклів з отакенними пащеками та очиськами. Тентаклі образилися та зачаїлися, вишукуючи гідну кандидатуру для продовження перемовин щодо знищення всього живого на нашій планеті. І така людина знайшлася після того, як римляни спалили її рідний Карфаген. І людина була не проста, і ще довелося зачекати на завоювання Римом Британії. А далі розігралася драма про батьків та дітей, з випилюванням батьків і переконанням дітей у тому, що краще служити знищенню світ… Риму, так, Риму, тентаклі наказали не палитись. Та знайшлися ті, хто був проти. Наприклад, король піктів. Йому доведеться розрулювати.

Малюнок різкий, емоційний, з гострими кутами, з майстерно переданими метаморфозами персонажів, коли вони перемикаються у режим берсерка чи змінюються під впливом магії. А от з обличчями якась біда. То перед нами варварські мордяки, складені з купи напружених м’язів, то щось не дуже детальне та страшне.

І зразу підсумок. Чотири. Хай воно місцями і криво намальовано, але свою роботу виконує - розважає.

[Bella Toric · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, the art and illustrations in this book were absolutely stunning. The amount of detail in them were well thought out and very purposefully placed. They added to the story that the author was already trying to tell, which I found extremely helpful to the plot of the book.

The story itself for the most part, was interesting and I was more interested in the lore of the book over anything else. This is a book that is extremely graphic and the art definitely depicts that with some extreme accuracies within the gore and bloodshed. It's slightly tricky to follow despite being set as a graphic novel but overall it was interesting to read.

Thank you netGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overall fun mix of sword & sandals with Lovecraftian horror set during the second century as the Roman Empire occupies the British Isles. There's an ancient evil long hidden away from the eyes of men, with some nefarious forces attempting to wake it up again. The story has a bit of a '70s pulpiness to it, not too dissimilar to something from Robert E. Howard, but comes off as a little too polished and modernized to pull it off completely. The artwork by Lionel Marty is generally very nice, consistent with contemporary bande dessinée artists, but it feels a bit like a mismatch for the story due to the "clean" aesthetic that feels at odds with the griminess of the script. Overall, an enjoyable though somewhat forgettable read.

[Vishal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flawed but visually stunning 7/10

There are some flaws in the plot, for example Ithome already knew everything about seal placed by Pictish magicians so why kidnap him, why not directly kill him? Why she waited for 19 years after Roman General's wife was killed? Brydia's role was almost nothing in second part. But I liked action and art is spectacular bothe pencils and colors. All in all I would say if you like brutal action and fantasy elements, go for it. Art makes up for few of the story flaws

[Czterysta Czterdzieścicztery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Widząc to połączenie: starożytni Rzymianie, Piktowie i stwory z innego wymiaru, pomyślałem to może być ciekawe. Niestety przyznam, że akcenty są tu rozłożone w sposób który po prostu mnie wynudził. Nie uważam, że to słaba opowieść, po prostu będzie zupełnie w porządku dla kogoś kto się w jej klimatach odnajdzie, dla takich osób spokojnie 3 gwiazdki. Rysunki na solidnym poziomie realistycznej kreski, choć mnie osobiście nie przekonują projekty potworów z innego wymiaru, za co obniżam ocenę rysunków o jedną gwiazdkę.

Scenariusz: **
Rysunki: **

[Unto Koskinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent Howard-Lovecraft pastiche, quite enjoyable... That said, the art isn't quite as neat as classic Conan comics and the plot gets overtly exposited so there is no mystery. If you like the genre of Swords & Sorcery, Shadows is a good pick though nothing special.

Still, hoping the duo of writer-artist continue in similar vein, as experience will hopefully sand away some of the roughness!

[Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was hard for me to follow but the art is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. It looks so good and all the action is very well done. The blood is almost coming off the page. It hurts me to do it with how much I love this art but the story is what is holding it back.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sword & Sorcery in the tradition of Howard with horrific elements reminiscent of Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft. Very much in the tradition of REH's Bran Mak Morn Pictiish tales. Amazing visual storytelling, likeable characters and epic S&S adventures make for a wonderful reading experience.

[Priscila Vera Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of comics but I like this one A LOT! Maybe it was because I always love history so I knew about what time period this story was inspired on. Maybe it was because I love horror stories (although I never read them in October). I love your comic book and I hope you make more.

[Piotr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark/heroic fantasy w czasach Piktów, łączące motywy od Howarda i od Lovecrafta. O dziwo udała się fabuła bez wewnętrznych sprzeczności, z przyzwoitym zakończeniem. Tyle że jakoś ta dawka patosu i heroizmu nie trafiła w moje aktualne potrzeby. Rysunki super, a już macek i paszcz szczególnie udane.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those boorishly earnest history hack-n-slash comics, that got very dull even before some witch character turned it into Braveheart-meets-Cthulhu. Really not my thing.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some natives of preGreat Britain (the Picts) fight Elder Gods and the Romans. A lot more magic in this one than I expected. Solid stuff.

[Remembering Ramiyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story

[Naveen kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good books!

[Cookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Assez divertissant mais rien de particulier non plus...

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Andrei · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Conan meets Cthulhu. We have a valiant barbarian king, an evil sorceress, an unspeakable horror from another dimension, as well as valiant supporting cast. There's also a good dose of celtic mythology referenced (although not really explained), a lot of blood & violence, and a satisfying conclusion. The art was pretty good and easy to follow.

What I liked: the historical setting, which is one not commonly used in stories - Brittania during the days of the Roman Empire, with the Picts taking center stage. The threat of the Hirudinea (the monsters from another dimension) seems very real, and the stakes are as as high as they come for everyone involved.

What I didn't like: a betrayal is taking place before the middle of the book - it's essential to the story progression but the reasons behind it are too flimsy. How the character of Brydia is handled - the second book is named after her and it feels she might be an important part of the story, but largely ends up narrating the story instead of really contributing.

[Mikael · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story is a tale of horrors from another dimension, that sometimes feel like they're taken right out of Mignolas B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth-series or some gory horrormovie, come to invade and ravage the Earth on the bidding of a witch whose home Carthage has been razed by the Romans.
Enter heroes to save the day, a mix of Celts, Picts, a Roman child, and a Thulean giant left sleeping for a few centuries in his boat, on the ocean, at the end of the world. Together with the goddess Morrigan they quickly summon all their pictish ancestors to fight the monsters and win in no time at all.

A bit shallow as stories go, but it could have been passable given better illustrations.
The landscapes are excellent, I'll give you that, the monsters are also fairly good, but the people are the true horrorshows. They're brutishly ugly, and not only when they're supposed to be, like when warped by the powers of the goddess. Not to mention the babies, apparently the illustrator is ok with drawing bodies, not so much with faces, even less with kids, but the babies are mostly recognizeable from context and not by how they're illustrated.

And where there's fighting there's also a lot of blood, and an unrealistic lot of cutting off people's heads with one single slash of the sword or axe. I'm not the one squeamish when it comes to blood, but here it feels as if it's mainly there for the splatter-effect and it does not enhance the story, at least for me.

This book was quite below my expectations and in retrospective I should have checked for more reviews before purchasing it, but the story looked so appealing from its description.
But it's not.