Customer Reviews

Sojourn v. 2: The Dragon's Tale

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The second trade paperback of the Crossgen series "Sojourn" continues with the same fervor of the first and makes your tounge water for the third. Arywn, the beautiful herione chosen to defeat the bad guy to save the world, Gareth, the cycloptic narrator, Kreeg, Arwyn's faithful poochie, Mordath, Skeletor's first cousin [not really], and Neven, the mysterious mage all return as the hunt continues to track down the shards of Aiden's arrow.

Without giving too much away, volume 2 focuses on the attempt to retrieve of the first shard and an encounter with a very unusual dragon. There is more character development for Arwyn and Gareth, and we are left just as confused regarding Neven's role. And Kreeg goes "woof".

What sets Sojourn apart from other series' (in my opinion) is the role of Gareth. He is a narrator, a commentator, and a main character. Whereas Arwyn is rather tactid (is that a word?), we constantly hear Gareth's thoughts and opinions, but not so often that it gets annoying. Arywn's character is also phenominal since she is a strong herione with an unpleasant past who doesn't really want the arrow to save the world, but to avenge the death of her son and husband.

If you liked book one, you'll love book two just as much. If you didn't like book one, what's wrong with you? ;)

If you love LOTR, D&D, MTG, or any other fine fantasy, you'll enjoy this series. I'd highly recommend it. Purchased vol's 1 and 2 from Amazon and am soon to purchase vol3. :)

I loved Sojourn 1 -- a great story line supported by Greg Land's incredible drawing. I bought book 2 of the series hoping for more of the same but was greatly disappointed in that the first and last chapters are drawn by different artists. The characters look so different that I spent the whole first chapter wondering if I'd somehow wandered into a different story. Was that blonde supposed to be Arwyn? Was that guy Gareth? Thankfully most of the book is drawn by Greg Land. I was on familiar territory again when I reached Chapter 2. The last chapter is a complete letdown because it too has a different artist, so again you feel that Arwyn and Gareth have disappeared and have been replaced by doubles -- and not very good ones at that. A very disappointing experience.

This is not one of Crossgen's better works (that would be their "Way of the Rat" or "The Path" series'). The story is continually "voiced-over" with a running commentary by the grating "rogue" hero. The characters all seem to be drawn with porn stars as the models--the women are big-chested and preternaturally beautiful; the guys are all long-haired and unshaven. You're supposed to really feel for the heroine and her desire for revenge on the evil sorcerer who killed her family but it's really just tiresome and cliched. This series is, at the very best, really well-done eye candy.

I know, I know. You've enjoyed the two "Lord of the Rings" movies released so far and maybe thought about trying out some epic fantasy in printed form, right? But then you saw that most fantasy series out there are either at least half a dozen volumes long (or more!) or have individual volumes thick as a telephone book. In some cases, both descriptions are true! So, naturally you run out of the bookstore screaming in fear at the prospect of conquering all those pages. Well, here's your solution... if you're open to or already familiar with the comics medium, pick up the first two volumes of CrossGen's epic "Sojourn" graphic novel series. This volume, plus volume 1 ("From the Ashes") together collect the first 12 issues of this terrific fantasy series, and the story so far gives you the type of drama, wonder, adventure, and humor you experienced in Peter Jackson's films (though with its own personality and flavor), but without the time commitment, fuss, and... well, drudgery, of having to wade through a four-pound doorstop of a book (or two, or three, or... you get the picture). Instead of getting your weightiness from the literal weight of the book, you'll get it from the epic goings-on, courtesy of Ron Marz's entertaining writing, and from Greg Land's wonderfully detailed artwork. And for those of you who don't mind a nice, thick book, and even like 'em, don't worry, you do get well over a hundred pages in each of these first two volumes, plenty of pages to let you get good and immersed in the story. But not enough to send you away screaming.