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gjkennedy's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
It's really hard to rate this book. If you evaluate it as an art book, it's an easy five stars. It's beautiful, some of the most fantastic art I've ever seen. As a piece of art, it's gorgeous.
Should've hired a co-author though. And a handful of sensitivity readers.
Seriously, this book in many ways has a very whimsical steampunk aesthetic reminiscent of the British Royal Airforce, except this time they're an expedition society in a post-apocalyptic world, rumaging through the frozen and "empty" Wastes that are only populated by the indigenous tribes of the area. The way the tribes are handled is with blatant allegory and exoticism, which was often tasteless at best and near-infuriating at worst. Parts of this book were worth one star, and most of them had to do with the tone and narrative choices he made regarding the Native people of the Wastes, which groups were seen in a positive light, what traits he gave them, their motivations and goals, and the way they treated the main character. If you want a sample:
"She was native, she was lovely. And she'd lost all of her Tukklan gruffness."
"The elders do not know everything. Ancient knowledge is still-- more ancient than knowledge."
Etc.
Even without that, the prose was just bad. The characters were flat. The ending is a total non-climax, the main mystery remains completely unsolved and despite it hinting at a sequel, I've seen no mention of thiis being a series? Not that it would be a good idea to make it one. Tbh at the end I was struggling to understand exactly what was going on anyways.
So yeah. If this didn't have the art I think you could argue this score down even further. But seeing as it's not the worst thing I've ever read, I don't feel that's right? I don't know. It's a bad book though.
Should've hired a co-author though. And a handful of sensitivity readers.
Seriously, this book in many ways has a very whimsical steampunk aesthetic reminiscent of the British Royal Airforce, except this time they're an expedition society in a post-apocalyptic world, rumaging through the frozen and "empty" Wastes that are only populated by the indigenous tribes of the area. The way the tribes are handled is with blatant allegory and exoticism, which was often tasteless at best and near-infuriating at worst. Parts of this book were worth one star, and most of them had to do with the tone and narrative choices he made regarding the Native people of the Wastes, which groups were seen in a positive light, what traits he gave them, their motivations and goals, and the way they treated the main character. If you want a sample:
"She was native, she was lovely. And she'd lost all of her Tukklan gruffness."
"The elders do not know everything. Ancient knowledge is still-- more ancient than knowledge."
Etc.
Even without that, the prose was just bad. The characters were flat. The ending is a total non-climax, the main mystery remains completely unsolved and despite it hinting at a sequel, I've seen no mention of thiis being a series? Not that it would be a good idea to make it one. Tbh at the end I was struggling to understand exactly what was going on anyways.
So yeah. If this didn't have the art I think you could argue this score down even further. But seeing as it's not the worst thing I've ever read, I don't feel that's right? I don't know. It's a bad book though.
melania_010200's review against another edition
3.0
3/5
Amazing art . One of the most beautiful that I’ve ever seen . The setting was right down my alley : snow , snow and some more snow combined with huge polar bears and some steampunk elements .
Unfortunately the story itself was a bit predictable and the characters one-dimensional; but don’t let that stop you from picking up this novel of you have chance . I would still recommend it nevertheless .
Amazing art . One of the most beautiful that I’ve ever seen . The setting was right down my alley : snow , snow and some more snow combined with huge polar bears and some steampunk elements .
Unfortunately the story itself was a bit predictable and the characters one-dimensional; but don’t let that stop you from picking up this novel of you have chance . I would still recommend it nevertheless .
faranae's review against another edition
1.0
Beautiful 5 star art. Dreadful writing that I would give a 2 star if it had not retained most of the racism and sexism of the Victorian adventure stories it is clearly inspired by.
mcacev's review against another edition
4.0
Above the Timberline is a science-fiction, alternate reality novel, written and illustrated by Gregory Manchess. It follows Wes Singleton, a 17 year old boy who goes on a quest to retrieve his father, Galen Singleton, an archaeologist for the PGS who disappeared on his latest adventure, trying to find a fabled City in the Clouds in what is now the remains of North America.
This is a beautiful book; the illustrations are gorgeous, detailed and absolutely necessary to tell this story. Manchess has a very Leyendecker, old-timely illustration style common in the 20's, 30's and 40's, which works perfectly for the time period of this novel. It reminded me of the illustrated version of Around the World in Eighty Days, and since both are set in roughly the same time frame, it was a joy to read. It helps that the format of the book works perfectly to set the vastness of the snow covered landscapes and mountains; the page where Wes gets to the Barrier (or the wall from ASoIaF) was one of my favorite in the book.
The story itself is a pretty straight forward treasure hunt; Wes is committed to finding his father, even though they have a strained relationship. He suffers many setbacks, meets a nomadic tribe, the requisite temple in the mountains and the of course necessary love interest. However what made the book interesting for me was the setting and the dual perspective between Wes and Galen's journals.
The setting is beautiful and fascinating; it takes place on this post apocalyptic Earth where shifts in tectonic plates have ushered into a new Ice Age, and entire civilizations were lost to the snow. At first I thought the city Galen was looking for would New York, since he's searching in North America. If we get a sequel, that's the part I'm most interested in; how this new society functions and where locationally is it set vs our current landscape.
Every character here is an archetype; Galen is no different, the single-minded, obsessed archaeologist who needs to find the City to prove to himself and everyone around him (especially the PSG) that he was right. His obsession drives him to be a terrible father and husband, and while I do like that he came to a realization late in life that he was wrong, and Wes did confront him, I didn't really like that he was still justified in his search for the City in the end.
Linea is the love interest, and as far as generic love interests go, she was fine. I didn't like that she was basically Pocahontas in this, but at least she didn't need to be rescued and the romance was at best a mild subplot.
The villains were all archetypes as well and I didn't much care for any of them personally. I feel like the fight between Sol and Tau should have been explored more since that was the most interesting part, but they were all still pretty bland.
Wesley reminded me of a more competent, daddy instead of grandpa issue Milo Thatch. He is feisty, angry, whiny and can be kind of annoying, but I still loved him. I didn't understand why he was acting the way he was in the middle of this book, especially in the Temple, because I don't think we ever really found out what caused his crisis of faith. He seemed pretty determined to find his father and then suddenly he wasn't and wanted to go home. Ok?
I had a blast reading this book, even if the plot is rather worn and the characters are types we've seen before. The art, the setting and the thrill of adventure are what makes this book for me, and I would love to see what else Manchess comes out with.
This is a beautiful book; the illustrations are gorgeous, detailed and absolutely necessary to tell this story. Manchess has a very Leyendecker, old-timely illustration style common in the 20's, 30's and 40's, which works perfectly for the time period of this novel. It reminded me of the illustrated version of Around the World in Eighty Days, and since both are set in roughly the same time frame, it was a joy to read. It helps that the format of the book works perfectly to set the vastness of the snow covered landscapes and mountains; the page where Wes gets to the Barrier (or the wall from ASoIaF) was one of my favorite in the book.
The story itself is a pretty straight forward treasure hunt; Wes is committed to finding his father, even though they have a strained relationship. He suffers many setbacks, meets a nomadic tribe, the requisite temple in the mountains and the of course necessary love interest. However what made the book interesting for me was the setting and the dual perspective between Wes and Galen's journals.
The setting is beautiful and fascinating; it takes place on this post apocalyptic Earth where shifts in tectonic plates have ushered into a new Ice Age, and entire civilizations were lost to the snow. At first I thought the city Galen was looking for would New York, since he's searching in North America. If we get a sequel, that's the part I'm most interested in; how this new society functions and where locationally is it set vs our current landscape.
Every character here is an archetype; Galen is no different, the single-minded, obsessed archaeologist who needs to find the City to prove to himself and everyone around him (especially the PSG) that he was right. His obsession drives him to be a terrible father and husband, and while I do like that he came to a realization late in life that he was wrong, and Wes did confront him, I didn't really like that he was still justified in his search for the City in the end.
Linea is the love interest, and as far as generic love interests go, she was fine. I didn't like that she was basically Pocahontas in this, but at least she didn't need to be rescued and the romance was at best a mild subplot.
The villains were all archetypes as well and I didn't much care for any of them personally. I feel like the fight between Sol and Tau should have been explored more since that was the most interesting part, but they were all still pretty bland.
Wesley reminded me of a more competent, daddy instead of grandpa issue Milo Thatch. He is feisty, angry, whiny and can be kind of annoying, but I still loved him. I didn't understand why he was acting the way he was in the middle of this book, especially in the Temple, because I don't think we ever really found out what caused his crisis of faith. He seemed pretty determined to find his father and then suddenly he wasn't and wanted to go home. Ok?
I had a blast reading this book, even if the plot is rather worn and the characters are types we've seen before. The art, the setting and the thrill of adventure are what makes this book for me, and I would love to see what else Manchess comes out with.
bookexplorer's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, beautiful illustrations to blow your mind! Story had good basis but mediocre execution and not enough time to ripen into what it could of been, but I still enjoyed it. It's honestly worth it just to experience this story via the illustrations.
erin_boyington's review against another edition
3.0
Four stars for art, but only one star for writing and story. Both of those are pretty terrible. Women are damseled, natives are mysterious, and every word is clunky and cliched as hell. Just ignore that nonsense and look at the gorgeous, gorgeous pictures.
(I was happily reminded of Dinotopia, which now I’m going to have to reread!)
(I was happily reminded of Dinotopia, which now I’m going to have to reread!)
thedisreputabledog's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ellsbeth's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautiful book and an intriguing story that feels more like an experience than a mere read. It does feel like it needs a bit of refinement, but it is a great adventure and I look forward to seeing more of Manchess's own work.
noveladdiction's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5 stars!
The art was gorgeous, I loved the story.... This is getting added to my wishlist, for sure. It reminded me a little of Dinotopia, which I considering high praise because that's one of my favorite series of all time. I'd love more by this author.
The art was gorgeous, I loved the story.... This is getting added to my wishlist, for sure. It reminded me a little of Dinotopia, which I considering high praise because that's one of my favorite series of all time. I'd love more by this author.
steamy_earl_of_grey's review against another edition
5.0
As a longtime fan of the Dinotopia series by [a:James Gurney|83267|James Gurney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1303526204p2/83267.jpg], this book was intriguing to take a look at. Rather than dinosaurs on an isolated island, it is a post-apocalyptic world that has progressed to become, basically, steampunk. While the main character seems to have "daddy issues" and thus it fuels his quest to find his father Above the Timberline. The tome is a good tale and the images engaging. Just who is the Old Man? The answer is not quite what you might expect and at the same time is. The ending leaves the story wide open for a continuation. Sequel, please?
The only fault I can find in this otherwise, good tale is in the physical book itself. The font is too small! Truly. You might want to have a pair of magnifying spectacles nearby while reading.
The only fault I can find in this otherwise, good tale is in the physical book itself. The font is too small! Truly. You might want to have a pair of magnifying spectacles nearby while reading.