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thedizzyreader's review
4.0
Could have gone without all the names inspired by diseases, but all things considered, I quite liked this graphic Prince and the Pauper fantasy spin off. Where is the sequel?!?!
iris_garden's review
funny
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
canadianodb's review
2.0
My first, and probably only, graphic novel. I don't really have any criticism it is just not the type of book I enjoy reading. Read it for a reading contest my local library is having.
mheinlein's review
4.0
Seifer Tombechewer was tired of living in a remote mountain village, and yearned for adventure. The saying be careful what you wish for can certainly apply here, because Seifer received said adventure when he was kidnapped and brought to the royal palace. He just happens to look like Prince Talon, who is missing. If Prince Talon s absence is noticed by the wrong people, the realm could be thrown into chaos, so Seifer gets to fill in for the prince until he can be found. [return][return]This is a beautifully illustrated and cleverly written graphic novel that is set in the fantasy world of the Darkling Realm . It is a dark story with bright spots of humor sprinkled in (I especially enjoyed the Monty Python reference), giving the story a nice balance. It does end with a bit of a cliff hanger, and I would look forward to reading a second installment if one is produced.
zephyrsilver's review
3.0
2.5 stars, rounded up
This was fine. The art was just fine (sort of felt like it was ripped out of a 'How to Draw Manga' book). The story itself was fine. Boy looks like the prince, prince is missing, boy replaces prince and ends up being a better prince than him despite having absolutely no training and based purely on him being a better person. Pretty tropey. It's also very young and very goofy. Don't expect any serious commentary on anything, really. So in that regard it's light and fun. This was also clearly intended to be a volume one and left basically the entire plot hanging so there's really no resolution or closure at all and it does suffer for that. Ultimately kind of forgettable (which might be why it never got a sequel).
This was fine. The art was just fine (sort of felt like it was ripped out of a 'How to Draw Manga' book). The story itself was fine. Boy looks like the prince, prince is missing, boy replaces prince and ends up being a better prince than him despite having absolutely no training and based purely on him being a better person. Pretty tropey. It's also very young and very goofy. Don't expect any serious commentary on anything, really. So in that regard it's light and fun. This was also clearly intended to be a volume one and left basically the entire plot hanging so there's really no resolution or closure at all and it does suffer for that. Ultimately kind of forgettable (which might be why it never got a sequel).
apocalypsehunter's review
5.0
This wonderful wonderful book reads like a fanfiction, and I am Living for it. It doesn't take itself super seriously, but it also doesn't shy away from talking about tough things. Not to mention, the main race has wings, and I am always a sucker for people with wings.
I don't know if a second book was ever published, but I sincerely hope so.
I don't know if a second book was ever published, but I sincerely hope so.
katsinthestacks's review
4.0
I totally want this to be a movie. Great characters, epic battles, and a backdrop of political intrigue. Loved the art too!
kmarx94's review
5.0
This graphic novel was amazing! I pretty particular when it comes to what graphic novels I read, but I saw this on one of Katytastic's YouTube videos and wanted to give this a try.
The artwork is beautiful and the character design's are really unique. It is very much like "The Prince and the Pauper", but that is the idea... just a little more macabre. While it is based off the "Prince and the Pauper" outline, the story has it's own identity and I definitely want to read a sequel.
The main character Seifer, is easy to attach too and he is extremely funny. The humor in this graphic novel is simple and quick, which works really well for the characters. I may be putting too much love on one graphic novel, but I love stories like these, and Seifer as a character is really charming!
Love this... but want a sequel... soon!!
The artwork is beautiful and the character design's are really unique. It is very much like "The Prince and the Pauper", but that is the idea... just a little more macabre. While it is based off the "Prince and the Pauper" outline, the story has it's own identity and I definitely want to read a sequel.
The main character Seifer, is easy to attach too and he is extremely funny. The humor in this graphic novel is simple and quick, which works really well for the characters. I may be putting too much love on one graphic novel, but I love stories like these, and Seifer as a character is really charming!
Love this... but want a sequel... soon!!
familiar_diversions's review
3.0
Maybe I didn't look in the right place, but I haven't been able to find any confirmation on Chris Wooding's site that Pandemonium is the first volume of a series. [This was written before a comment on my blog pointed me towards info confirming that this was intended to be the first volume of a series, although it's not clear whether Scholastic will continue that series.] I hope it's not intended to be a standalone volume, because it really doesn't work as one. By the end of the volume, Prince Talon still hasn't been found, there are unanswered questions about Seifer's origins, there's more political unrest on the horizon, Seifer and Cassie's romance is still in its early stages, and Prince Talon's fiancee has just come home.
According to Amazon, Pandemonium is intended for readers ages 8 and up. I have a feeling this book would work better for readers who are closer to 8 years old than, say, their later teens or adulthood. As an adult, I found the humor to be a tad too goofy when mixed with all the political unrest. I would have liked it if the balance had tipped more in favor of seriousness, with the humor used to keep things from getting too dark. Instead, there was something over-the-top on almost every page: a giant house cat that wanted to eat Seifer, midgets that liked to cosh people, the Big-Face plague (it's exactly what it sounds like), knowledge of another culture demonstrated via loud burping, etc.
The story was extremely fast-paced. It felt like as soon as Seifer had dealt with one problem (or Cassie had dealt with it for him), he had another problem dumped on his lap. At first, it was an assassination attempt, but, by the end of the book, Seifer was leading thousands of people into battle. The romance with Cassie, too, was fast-paced. Cassie talked a bit about her past and spent some time showing Seifer how to use magika (I'm assuming the color art in the final version shows this better than the line art in my ARC), so I suppose Seifer had some time to get to know her, but the moments when he almost kissed her still felt a little rushed. Speaking of Cassie, I wish Wooding had spent more time developing her character - she had the potential to be awesome, but, after explaining her past and why she came to the palace, she became little more than Seifer's magical sidekick.
I know one of the ways a lot of readers, myself included, initially judge graphic novels is by their artwork. Unfortunately, since only the first 16 pages of my ARC are in color, and the finished work is supposed to be entirely in color, I can't really say too much about the artwork. Those first 16 pages look really excellent, with my primary criticism being that the action scenes could be a little better. Of course, part of my problem with the action scenes may be due to me being used to black-and-white manga and its copious motion lines. Amazon has a few pages available for preview (which appear to be bad quality, since my ARC pages look better than they do), so take a look and judge for yourself whether the artwork is to your taste.
Overall, I didn't dislike Pandemonium, and I'd love to see the full-color artwork in the finished book. However, I think I'd have liked the story more if either Seifer hadn't had to deal with impending war or the humor had been scaled back a bit. If this is the first volume in a series, I wouldn't mind reading future volumes – this book left me with lots of questions I'd like to know the answers to. Currently, I'm guessing that Seifer is Talon's twin, and the two were separated at birth.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
According to Amazon, Pandemonium is intended for readers ages 8 and up. I have a feeling this book would work better for readers who are closer to 8 years old than, say, their later teens or adulthood. As an adult, I found the humor to be a tad too goofy when mixed with all the political unrest. I would have liked it if the balance had tipped more in favor of seriousness, with the humor used to keep things from getting too dark. Instead, there was something over-the-top on almost every page: a giant house cat that wanted to eat Seifer, midgets that liked to cosh people, the Big-Face plague (it's exactly what it sounds like), knowledge of another culture demonstrated via loud burping, etc.
The story was extremely fast-paced. It felt like as soon as Seifer had dealt with one problem (or Cassie had dealt with it for him), he had another problem dumped on his lap. At first, it was an assassination attempt, but, by the end of the book, Seifer was leading thousands of people into battle. The romance with Cassie, too, was fast-paced. Cassie talked a bit about her past and spent some time showing Seifer how to use magika (I'm assuming the color art in the final version shows this better than the line art in my ARC), so I suppose Seifer had some time to get to know her, but the moments when he almost kissed her still felt a little rushed. Speaking of Cassie, I wish Wooding had spent more time developing her character - she had the potential to be awesome, but, after explaining her past and why she came to the palace, she became little more than Seifer's magical sidekick.
I know one of the ways a lot of readers, myself included, initially judge graphic novels is by their artwork. Unfortunately, since only the first 16 pages of my ARC are in color, and the finished work is supposed to be entirely in color, I can't really say too much about the artwork. Those first 16 pages look really excellent, with my primary criticism being that the action scenes could be a little better. Of course, part of my problem with the action scenes may be due to me being used to black-and-white manga and its copious motion lines. Amazon has a few pages available for preview (which appear to be bad quality, since my ARC pages look better than they do), so take a look and judge for yourself whether the artwork is to your taste.
Overall, I didn't dislike Pandemonium, and I'd love to see the full-color artwork in the finished book. However, I think I'd have liked the story more if either Seifer hadn't had to deal with impending war or the humor had been scaled back a bit. If this is the first volume in a series, I wouldn't mind reading future volumes – this book left me with lots of questions I'd like to know the answers to. Currently, I'm guessing that Seifer is Talon's twin, and the two were separated at birth.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
erutane's review
4.0
I don't know what I loved more: the dark and stylish world, the enthusiastically evil characters, the bright and sarcastic protagonist or the fact that no one takes themselves or their world too seriously. It also has characters with names like Queen Euthanasia Pandemonium and Tombchewer, which I think is almost worth reading for that reason alone.