Author:
Steve Bryant
Contributors: Mark Stegbauer, Jason Millet
Genre: Kids, Horror, Zombies
Series: Ghoul Scouts #1-#4
Genre: Kids, Horror, Zombies
Series: Ghoul Scouts #1-#4
Release
Date: 18th Oct 2016 (US); 20th Oct 2016 (UK)
A
few starting notes:
I
received a free digital review copy of this book via Edelweiss.
Edelweiss provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair
and honest reviews.
In honesty, I thought this would just be OK, and nothing more. Turns out, it was really freaking awesome! :)
Premise:
Full Moon Hollow - Paranormal Capital of the World. But of course, those are just stories.
A scout jamboree. Fun, right?
Until the zombies show up, and the remains of two scout groups have to fight to find their way to safety...
What the hell is going on in Full Moon Hollow?
Best
bits:
Have you ever thought what would happen when you smoosh a multi-racial Scooby-Doo style gang of kids (unfortunately, without the dog,) into Brian K Vaughn's Paper Girls, with the more family-friendly parts of the film Zombieland?
Nope, me neither. But clearly someone's been thinking about it - because here it is.
And it's really fun!
Bright, spoopy ('spooky' to the purists amongst you,) and with an adventure that really scoops you up and drags you along with it, this is a really involving book.
The artwork was effective - bright, but not too in-your-face.
And the main characters are pretty evenly split between white characters and people of colour (PoCs). Overall, the split may even be slightly in favour of PoCs - depending on who you count as main characters.
It's done well - not forced; it simply is (as it should be.)
Not
so great bits:
While the kids were relatively well-drawn characters (in the metaphorical sense - though in the literal sense too, I suppose,) I think they still could do with some character development - though this may be expanded on in continuations of the series.
I also think that things maybe weren't tied up correctly...?
Like, how did the kids explain the zombie attack to the adults? And where the hell did the zombies come from in the first place?
Again, this is possibly just a symptom of first-volume restrictions - and it's entirely possible that this'll get sorted in later instalments.
OK, so I'm nit-picking a little... but someone has to ;)
Verdict:
This was so fun! A well-rounded kids' story (and big kids, like yours truly, of course,) with a diverse cast and zombies!
With room for growth, and perfect for Halloween, I really do recommend this one guys - I enjoyed the hell out of it! :)
Liked
this post? Try these:
"Like, how did the kids explain the zombie attack to the adults? And where the hell did the zombies come from in the first place?"
ReplyDeleteThese are dangerous questions you're asking, Cee Arr!!
But I love these kinds of questions. When I watch TV shows that are ridiculous or high fantasy/Scifi, I am always trying to rationalize something or find loopholes. Hah, it's fun. :)
This book also sounds pretty fun.
Are you experiences with Edelweiss mostly positive? I've download a couple of ebooks (not graphic novels) for my Kindle and the formatting turned out to be so aweful it was unreadable.
Ha, that's me - a dangerous kinda gal ;)
DeleteWhenever I watch TV shows etc., I end up screaming at the screen b/c the characters keep acting so DAMNED STUPID. I have a theory that this is due to something I call 'stupid pills.' All fictional characters have access to a supply ;)
And yes! It was so fun!
So far, I've only used Edelweiss for PDFs of graphic novels, so don't know what it's like for e-books. The novels I've requested I've been declined for - one of them I then went and requested on NetGalley, and was accepted there. I don't have a Kindle anyway - I have a Kobo, so I download in ePUB rather than Kindle files. If you're having problems, maybe Google it? Lol. ;)