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unladylike's review against another edition
5.0
I either forgot or didn't know that comics could be soooo good, sooo dense, and that fictional world-building (speculative fiction? sci-fi?) could be so rich. This quickly moved to my all-time favourite comics list and before I had to return volume 2 to the library I was compelled to purchase the whole collection. Just wow.
theduchess93's review against another edition
5.0
This was one of those books where, even as I'm reading it, I recognize the impact it's going to have on me as a person and on my life in general. I can't even describe what the plot was, let alone why it was so earth-shatteringly significant for me to experience, but it truly was. Everything, from the art to the characterization to the storylines, was complex and rich and contradictory and confusing while inherently making complete sense. Thank you, McNeil, for this series.
riotsquirrrl's review against another edition
4.0
Engrossing. Disjointed and confusing in some places; I the footnotes at the end help significantly but I didn't get to those until the end. Sometimes you can definitely see that this is a product of the 90s, such as the send-up of a Disneyland-like place. Reading the book and its ideas of what the future would look like in 2023 results in a jarring combination of impressive presentience and stodgy old-fashionedness. Like they have pocket AI but no cell phones.
loonyboi's review against another edition
5.0
Complex, dense and utterly fascinating. I can't remember the last time I was so taken aback by a graphic novel.
The Finder Library: Volume 1 collects the first three books of the series Finder, originally self-published by author Carla Speed McNeil. The series has been running since 1996, but somehow I managed to go all this time without ever hearing of it.
Finder is science fiction, but it's not of the spaceships and aliens type. It's not even any kind of high-concept sci-fi, although there are lots of recognizable tropes to be found in the background.
What McNeil has done is rather than go about world-building in the traditional science fiction sense, she's focused her story like a laser-beam on a handful of characters, and lets the world develop around them.
This being the first volume (or really the first three) it does take a little while to get going. The first story is very different from everything that follows, and is a little muddled. But once she gets going, it's really quite amazing.
The protagonist for most of the book is Jaeger, the titular Finder. He's half Ascian, which is a sort of native american tribe. Then there's his friend and frequent lover Emma and her extended family. Sometimes the story is told from Jaeger's point of view, sometimes it's Emma's or her psychotic ex-husband and sometimes it's one of her three children.
The story is so dense, that's extremely difficult to summarize in just a few sentences. Needless to say, this is a very human story, and the sci-fi elements are there to add flavor, not to distract from it.
If you like deep, complex storytelling, you owe it to yourself to read this book.
The Finder Library: Volume 1 collects the first three books of the series Finder, originally self-published by author Carla Speed McNeil. The series has been running since 1996, but somehow I managed to go all this time without ever hearing of it.
Finder is science fiction, but it's not of the spaceships and aliens type. It's not even any kind of high-concept sci-fi, although there are lots of recognizable tropes to be found in the background.
What McNeil has done is rather than go about world-building in the traditional science fiction sense, she's focused her story like a laser-beam on a handful of characters, and lets the world develop around them.
This being the first volume (or really the first three) it does take a little while to get going. The first story is very different from everything that follows, and is a little muddled. But once she gets going, it's really quite amazing.
The protagonist for most of the book is Jaeger, the titular Finder. He's half Ascian, which is a sort of native american tribe. Then there's his friend and frequent lover Emma and her extended family. Sometimes the story is told from Jaeger's point of view, sometimes it's Emma's or her psychotic ex-husband and sometimes it's one of her three children.
The story is so dense, that's extremely difficult to summarize in just a few sentences. Needless to say, this is a very human story, and the sci-fi elements are there to add flavor, not to distract from it.
If you like deep, complex storytelling, you owe it to yourself to read this book.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
5.0
I don't normally include graphic novels on my official timeline for the year because most of them only take a few hours to read, and it feels like cheating to include them as part of an annual count. But this is a gigantic, meaty, 660-page behemoth of a book that required actual reading comprehension and significant time, and it seemed fair. Besides, I just wanted to write about what an experience this was. As an adult, I don't often run across new fantasy worlds that actually excite me. Everything just feels like an elaborate variation on something I've read before. Finder is different. It's a strange, quaint, elaborate world that feels like it has a history, but moreso, that's as packed with culture and variants and strange species as Star Wars' world, but with more personal and complicated stories going on. I had trouble following this first book at times, and at first I saw that as a flaw, but gradually I came to realize it was because the author wasn't telegraphing who readers were supposed to like and who we were supposed to hate. The story is more complicated, and I wasn't used to not being led in terms of heroes and villains. I suspect it'll all read more clearly the second time through, and given that by the end, I was reading this much too fast as I tried to take it all in, I'm very much looking forward to that second read.
rebeccacider's review against another edition
5.0
One of my new favorite comics. Finder is like a slightly less eccentric Love and Rockets set in a far-future world reminiscent of Halo Jones.
Wonderful characters and clever worldbuilding that leaves a lot to the imagination. And fabulous black and white art!
And yes, I have a crush the size of a planet on Jaeger, who is like Sirius Black's older and badder big brother. OH JAEGER.
Wonderful characters and clever worldbuilding that leaves a lot to the imagination. And fabulous black and white art!
And yes, I have a crush the size of a planet on Jaeger, who is like Sirius Black's older and badder big brother. OH JAEGER.
skybalon's review against another edition
4.0
Well drawn with an interesting story. The story does not always make sense, sometimes because it is setting the stage for later but also cause it feels like the author goes for feelings rather than coherent plotting.
Just coast through the parts you don't get, enjoy the art and the parts you do get.
Just coast through the parts you don't get, enjoy the art and the parts you do get.
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
4.0
IMPORTANT INFO - This is a sort of omnibus edition that includes books 1-4, which covers issues 1-22 and the following story arcs:
Book 1 - Sin Eater (part 1) - Originally reproduced issues 1-7
Book 2 - Sin Eater (part 2) - Originally reproduced issues 8-14
Book 3 - King of the Cats - Originally reproduced issues 15-18
Book 4 - Talisman (ps, this one is my fave, and IMO the best story) - Originally issues 19-21, and not sure what issue 22 was, maybe a one-shot.
See Finder Library Volume 2 for Books 5-8
There's at least ONE more volume/story arc, volume 9, "Voice" that I don't think exists in any printed trade format yet. It's loosely gathered on McNeil's website, and you might be able to find single issues out there, somewhere.
"Volumes" 10, and 11, Third World and Chase the Lady, seem to be just re-printing material from the story arcs above, somewhat disjointedly, from under the "Dark Horse Presents" banner, but **IN COLOR** so if you're into that, go for it, but I think there's no actual new STORY there.
You're welcome.
PS FINDER is an amazing gem of the comics world.
Book 1 - Sin Eater (part 1) - Originally reproduced issues 1-7
Book 2 - Sin Eater (part 2) - Originally reproduced issues 8-14
Book 3 - King of the Cats - Originally reproduced issues 15-18
Book 4 - Talisman (ps, this one is my fave, and IMO the best story) - Originally issues 19-21, and not sure what issue 22 was, maybe a one-shot.
See Finder Library Volume 2 for Books 5-8
There's at least ONE more volume/story arc, volume 9, "Voice" that I don't think exists in any printed trade format yet. It's loosely gathered on McNeil's website, and you might be able to find single issues out there, somewhere.
"Volumes" 10, and 11, Third World and Chase the Lady, seem to be just re-printing material from the story arcs above, somewhat disjointedly, from under the "Dark Horse Presents" banner, but **IN COLOR** so if you're into that, go for it, but I think there's no actual new STORY there.
You're welcome.
PS FINDER is an amazing gem of the comics world.
sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty good volume of three stories. I love the worldbuilding.
lookhome's review against another edition
5.0
Stunning comic book. A unique world with frightening possibilities. I loved every minute of it. It's hard not to fall in love with it's many characters, all of which break the usual comic conventions. Now added to the list with Sandman and Swamp Thing as must read suggestions.