The Morning Star (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Isabella-the Samoon has spoken and you should prepare to depart for Alexandria..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this sixth and final installment in his popular Griffin & Sabine saga (divided into two trilogies), writer and illustrator Bantock creates another jewel box of a book, rife with intrigue, legend and mystery. The exquisitely designed text features the series' trademark postcards and letters, written by archeologist Matthew Sedon, his true love Isabella de Reims, and the mysterious Griffin and Sabine, who have infiltrated the young lovers' lives. Fetchingly sepia-toned and exotic, the illustrated missives are charged with equal parts passion and mythology. Although newcomers to the story may be baffled by references to events that occurred in the previous volumes, they will find much to enjoy in the lush design and seductive tale. The suspense builds as Isabella, abandoning her studies in Paris, travels by land closer and closer to Matthew in Egypt. There is a voyeuristic thrill to reading someone else's mail, and Bantock exploits it thoroughly. When Matthew and Isabella come together at last, their union is a bit too breathless (Isabella engulfs Matthew "in her creature senses"), but readers who have followed the characters this far will appreciate the fireworks.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Artist and fabulist Bantock concludes the cosmic romance of his internationally adored creations, Griffin and Sabine, and their young disciples, Matthew and Isabella, in the final installment in a series that includes The Gryphon (2001) and Alexandria (2002). Elevating his exquisite and unique form of illustrated epistolary novels (beware: as before, some letters are not bound into the book) to new heights, Bantock's art has never been finer, the sweet sensuality has never been more poetic, and the drama of their spiritual mission has never been so exalted. As Griffin and Sabine encourage the intrepid Isabella on her urgent and risky journey from France to Egypt and instruct Matthew in ways to subvert the dark force that stalks him, Bantock orchestrates a fantastic battle between good and evil. Sabine writes that Matthew and Isabella are part of "an elite of the sensitive, the considerate and the tenacious" engaged in a "struggle against cruelty and unrelenting chaos," and, at the very least, best-selling Bantock's dreamy creations do good by adding beauty to the world. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081183199X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811831994
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,854 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The un-story, May 17, 2004

By	wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Frankly, I'm disappointed. The original Griffin and Sabine series had a wonderful spark of originality. This series is just too derivative.

I wanted to like this new trilogy. I like Bantock's art. There is so much in each picture that I can barely pull myself away for the text. I like the new plot elements that Bantock introduced. The cat with a name, Isabella's roar - these could have been rich new elements in the G&S mythology. They never went anywhere though, and left us re-reading the G&S story in somewhat different words.

If you're new to Bantock, the first G&S trilogy is your best bet. It's fresh, mysterious, and exciting. I just wish that this series could have deepened the mystery or sustained the excitement.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The End?, October 13, 2003

By	Michael Mapa (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews

This book (and the second trilogy, for that matter) is neither as visually arresting nor as emotionally involving as the first one. Of course, it could be that the novelty of the gimmick (reading someone else's mail) is wearing off, but I think it is also because Matthew and Isabella are simply not as interesting as Griffin and Sabine. As for the art, it's still lavish, but it lacks the sort of dream-/nightmare-like quality that made the first series so compelling. In other words, there doesn't seem to be much spirit in this series.

And unless Nick Bantock has plans of coming up with a 3rd trilogy, I'm afraid the question will linger in my mind is: "What was THAT all about?" I wish he'd stopped at The Golden Mean--at least there were so many interesting theories about the series at that point (my personal favorite is that Sabine was a malevolent force that drove Griffin to madness). But now, there are no good theories.

Hardcore fans of Bantock's art will no doubt enjoy this series. But those hoping for a story worthy of the first series may be disappointed, as I was.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What happened?, September 27, 2004

By	Book Nerd (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

As always, the artistic value is great, but what happened to the story? Although I did not find The Gryphon & Alexandria as compelling as the original trilogy, it still had a decent story line to follow.

I have to say that I was deeply disappointed with how the story concluded. There was no real closure, and it seemed that the ending was rushed and not really well planned out. I basically felt like this book was strictly to showcase the art rather than the text content. Such a sad thing.

It had the making of being something so classical and great, but fell flat on its face. I would recommend that readers stick with the original Griffin & Sabine trilogy and stop there.