God Save The Queen [Paperback]

Mike Carey (Author), John Bolton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2008

Mike Carey, writer of LUCIFER, joins forces with renowned fantasy illustrator John Bolton for this original graphic novel, now available in trade paperback.Featuring lush, painted artwork by Bolton, this fantastic tale echoes the themes and epic scope of THE SANDMAN and THE BOOKS OF MAGIC. Set in both north London and the kingdom of Faerie, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN tells the story of a rebellious London teenager whose falling out with her mother leads her to befriend a group of slacker faeries. From the ancient struggle between rival queens Titania and Mab to a young girls conflicted coming of age, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN will intrigue and delight readers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Romeo and Juliet Mercutio compared drugs to Queen Mab, queen of the faeries. In this new graphic novel, rebellious teenager Linda finds out how literal that comparison is. Linda's father has left, and her mother crawled into a bottle months ago and hasn't crawled out. Linda drags a friend out clubbing and plans to "say yes to everything." She meets the magnetic Verian who shows her a whole new high—mixing her blood with heroin. It's only when he takes her to "the border" that she realizes Verian and his friends are from Faerie, and she's unknowingly put herself in the middle of a civil war between Queen Mab and her usurper, Titania. Bolton's fully painted panels are vivid and alluring, at their best when showing the twisted land of Faerie. Carey's story gives equal time to human emotions and the more decadent world of magic and fantasy. Carey (Crossing Midnight, Lucifer) and Bolton (Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, The Furies) revisit territory already familiar from such series as The Books of Magic, but put enough new spins on it to make this a treat for any fan of the fantastic. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Borrowing a bit from Shakespeare, this tale is a midsummer's nightmare. While Mab and Titania duke it out in Faerie, Linda, a contemporary London teen who likes to walk on the wild side, gets herself and her best friend, Jeff, involved with apparent squatters. These rough sorts ply a dangerous pastime--Red Horse, which is heroin mixed with the blood of one of the group of those shooting it. Linda's blood seems to be their favorite. Meanwhile, Linda's mother turns out to have a surprise identity of her own, and that brings the world of Faerie and Linda's rough world together, if only after Jeff overdoses in the squat. Bolton's imagery, framing, and colors render the faerie world and London's seamy side with aplomb, thereby extending the horror and wonder of Carey's script. Linda is a changeling with a conscience, and if all doesn't end perfectly, it ends better than Linda could have expected. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401203043
• ISBN-13: 978-1401203047
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #351,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Carey got into writing through comic books, where his horror/fantasy series Lucifer garnered numerous international awards and was nominated for five Eisners. From there he moved into novels and screenplays, while still maintaining a presence in the comics world (he is currently writing two of Marvel's flagship titles, X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four). His movie Frost Flowers, an erotic ghost story, is currently in production with Hadaly/Bluestar Pictures. He lives in London, England, about as far as you can get from the centre of the city and still have access to the London Underground train network. His wife, Linda, writes fantasy for young readers under the pseudonym A.J. Lake. They have three children and an implausibly beautiful cat.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark and twisted, May 17, 2007

By 

Matthieu Hausig (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: God Save the Queen (Hardcover)

This is an interesting book that goes in many directions at once. The subject matter is grim, the protagonist has lost her father and is adopted by a group of junkies who use her blood to shoot up. She is drawn into a violent struggle between two queens of the Faerie kingdom at a tremendous personal cost. Moments of levity are interspersed, to varying degrees of success, between action sequences and introspection. Similarly, the art veers from the grotesque to the sublime, following the tone of the narrative. Unfortunately, the story often moves too fast and becomes forced. Overall, while it certainly isn't for everyone due to the subject matter but fans of the authors should give it a read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very slick and very, very thin., May 26, 2008

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Save The Queen (Paperback)

John Bolton's stylish art adds a much-needed breath of life and drama to this otherwise uninspiring tale of a modern-take infestation of fairies in north London.

The plot is a bit jumpy - a lot of things happen very quickly and with a great deal of melodrama. Perhaps if this were twice the length, Carey would have had the time to build a little more empathy. But as it is, he's forced to hit the reader with the drama bat at every turn.

The main character's angst is irritating and her inevitable redemption is entirely unearned. An attempt at crazy/beautiful/gothic/angst, she's actually self-absorbed throughout - even her moments of clarity and self-realization come across as self-pitying.

Although it tries to combine the majesty of Faerie with the grittiness of London noir, it falls short on both counts. If angsty teenagers getting involved in the Faerie civil war is really your thing, I'd recommend McKelvie's Suburban Glamour instead.

4.0 out of 5 stars Faerie Gangland, June 4, 2008

By 

Brent R. Swanson "coffee shop inspector" (Crooper, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Save The Queen (Paperback)

At heart, this graphic novel is a wonderful fable about growth, maturing, and truly discovering one's parents in the process of discovering oneself. Neither the Brothers Grimm nor their predecessors could have composed a better backstory.

The look and language instilled in this graphic novel, by Mike Carey and John Bolton, will put off many who aren't already familiar with "Books of Magic" or the "Sandman" graphic novels. That's a shame, because "Goth" is more than appropriate attire for the dangerous and duplicitous Faerie world and its denizens. Indeed, the image of Puck has barely been altered from certain "classical" depictions, giving this book a familial tie to the tradition of faerie illustration.

Even if some portions of the story seem rushed, particularly the final battle, the central conflict between Linda and her mother is the true heart of this story. This is a tale about moving from faux sophistication to compassionate adulthood, and it deserves a large readership.