Customer Reviews

Old Man's Cave (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Bone (Prebound))

5 star:		(18)
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Jeff Smith's wonderful "Bone" series continues with this, the sixth of nine volumes (completing the second of three trilogies). "Old Man's Cave" continues the trend of previous installments, which have slowly grown less humorous and more grim.

Yet through the increasingly dark tone of the "Bone" saga, Smith manages to keep things friendly for all ages, a truly commendable task in this era of R rated comics.

"Bone" is an expansive story about three "bone creatures" (you'd have to see them to understand) that find themselves in a valley peopled with an assortment of crazy and interesting characters. Looming over it all is the menace of a great evil, revealed slowly over the course of nine volumes. The series starts off lighthearted, but grows less so as the story unravels itself.

"Old Man's Cave" is a good example of that. The tale is compelling and dark, letting unfold the tale of Thorn, grandma and the bones, showing us the rising tide of evil in the valley, and ultimately leaving us with a thrilling conclusion filled with despair and hopelessness. It is a great climax to the second of three interwoven trilogies, and without question a perfect end to the second act of this series. When finishing this, you'll reach for the next volume right away.

It all works because Smith combines the kind of classic storytelling perfected by the likes of the legendary Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge) and Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) - gleeful cartooning with outrageously expressive faces and gestures - with the epic and engaging plotting of a sweeping fairy tale. "Bone" walks a tightrope and walks it well, managing to be something fans of both Donald Duck and Bilbo Baggins can enjoy.

Comic readers able to look past the lack of men in tights (superheroes) and color artwork will delight in this series. So, too, will those generally not accustomed to comics. Little doubt people will still be reading "Bone" 50 years from now. Broad in scope yet personal and quaint, this is a charming story in every way that will surely outlast 90 percent of other comic works on the shelf.

Jeff Smith's "Bone" series is a critically acclaimed but criminally overlooked epic. And that's too bad, because this deserves to be read.

If you've gotten this far, you know what a kick the Bone series is. Strong, stylish and effective graphics (think Alex Toth) merges with writing that mixes grand epic fantasy with strong character work and riotous slapstick humor. What you need to know is that volume six carries more than its weight in the saga-- a whole raft of mysteries are cleared up here including yet more info about the royal family, the hooded bad guy, and the search for the one who bears the star. It's a masterpiece of plotting-- nothing is expected and yet Smith doesn't pull any of his solutions out of left field. Buy this (and any of the others you're missing), plunk down in a comfy chair, and read straight through all six!

When I read ROCK JAW and DRAGONSLAYER, I thought nothing could compare.

I was wrong.

This book seems to be the most severely underrated of the whole series. I found it thrilling and heart-wrenching (the whole part about Thorn hating and not trusting Gran'ma Ben)even though the comedy was not truly up to Jeff Smith's usual. I also found myself satisfied at the amount of information (the identity of the hooded one, what makes the baddies think that Phoney will get them, and why Phoney was so stingy and moneystruck.) I loved this book and I can't see why others didn't.

Very vivid and strung with haunting points. This appealing tale cuts into polished humour. Nor young or old it caputers a promising audience. Many unanswered mysteries of the heroic series are unraveled in a solved puzzel. Linked colorful pictures are a delighted bounus.

A experienced reader will still run into suprising corners of the epic comic. Wild fansty creatures dominate the whole action terrain. I say this is a wonderful gift to present to someone.

OK, I'll get it out of my system now so I can focus on my review and summary. Here I go.... I LOVE BONE!! IT ROCKS!!! I'VE OBSESSIVELY (hmmm...maybe 'obsessively' is too strong.) SEARCHED FOR IT IN LOCAL LIBRARIES!!! whew. OK. I'm done. This is my favorite Bone so far. A lot of mysteries are cleared up, such as, who the hooded one is, why the Lord of the Locust is after Phoney, and what the Lord of the Locust was supposed to be. There is also some interesting Bone family history and valley history. Even though these big myseries are cleared up, there are some small ones still to be seen to, like, will Smiley and Bartleby ever be reunited? (You'll know what I mean if you've read Dragonslayer (Bone 4) and Rock Jaw (Bone 5))This series is my all time favorite one, along with the Clone Wars graphic novels, and Artemis Fowl. (I'm sure I've stated this several times now, but one more time can't hurt.)Start from the beginning and you have a better cance of 'getting' everything.

Very vivid and strung with haunting points. This appealing tale cuts into polished humour. Nor young or old it caputers a promising audience. Many unanswered mysteries of the heroic series are unraveled in a solved puzzel. Linked colorful pictures are a delighted bounus.

A experienced reader will still run into suprising corners of the epic comic. Wild fansty creatures dominate the whole action terrain. I say this is a wonderful gift to present to someone.

My nephew is collecting all of this series of BONE books. He loves them. I noticed that this edition wasn't readily available so I snatched up a copy even though he had not read BONE #5.

Reason for Reading: next in the series

We are right in the middle of all the action with this volume. The battle has started and everyone steps up to the plate and shows their mettle. Fone and Smiley are still lost in the woods from the previous book until they meet up with Thorn and continue the journey with her. Gran'ma Ben has called everyone together at Old Man's Cave where they can put up a united stand against the rat creatures under the leadership of the Hooded One, whose identity we learn in this book. Once again all the characters from the previous volumes are together again, some only making cameo appearances but it is a pleasure to see everyone as the heat turns up, secrets are revealed and a battle, but not the war, is won. We are left with an uneasy something-may-be-very-wrong ending which makes me need to go buy the rest of the books. But again I'll be taking a little break from reading so I can make the series last.

This is the sixth book in the wonderful nine book Bone series by Jeff Smith. I have been loving this series and this was a wonderful continuation of it. Gma Ben and Thorn (along with all of our favorites) are back and events are clipping along at a fast pace.

The book starts out with Gma Ben and Lucius at Old Man's Cave, where the village has taken shelter. Fone Bone and Smiley Bone are still lost in the woods trying to make their way to the burning village. Seemingly random events from previous books are woven more tightly together in this one.

I liked this book better than the previous ones. Thorn and Gma Ben are back and things are picking up pace. We finally learn more about how the Lord of the Locusts is tied to Thorn and Gma Ben. The Bones, especially Fone Bone, are starting to play a bigger role in determining the fate of the Valley.

There is still a lot of humor in here and the illustration remains very well-done (consistent with previous volumes). The story is getting more epic though, and it was hard to put this book down. I raced through it in under an hour. It is appropriate for readers of all ages.

Overall a solid installment in this series; I was happy to have my favorite characters back. I look forward to reading Volume 7, Bone, Vol. 7: Ghost Circles. If you are a fan of epic fantasy or just fantasy in general, you have to pick up this graphic novel series and give it a read through! I also recommend The The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1) by Kazu Kibuishi; that one is more serious but has a great fantasy story with fantastic illustration.

My kids, 10 and 12 years old, are not avid book or comic book readers, but the devaoured the 9 volumes in a couple of weekends.

The quality of the book was flawless.

Even I enjoyed it.