Graceling The Graphic Novel

– Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds –

Etch/Clarion Books

Published 16 November 2021

♥♥♥♥♥

 

It has been quite a number of years since I’ve read Graceling, so it was so delightful to enjoy the story again, this time in graphic novel format.

For those of you who are new to the Graceling Realm, Katsa is Graced. She is the most feared assassin and King Randa uses her to threaten and maintain his power. Katsa knows that what is asked of her is often wrong, so she and her friends have created a council that seek to fight for justice. On one of her missions, Katsa encounters another Graced fighter. When Po turns up at Rwanda’s court, Katsa has no choice but to let him in on the secret of the council. And when troubling news from the Kingdom Monsea of reaches them, Po and Katsa team up to discover the truth behind the rumours.

With the release of Winterkeep recently, the fourth book in the series, the Graceling series is alive and well and there will be plenty of old and new Graceling fans who I am sure will be desperate to read this graphic novel edition. The graphic novel format will also no doubt introduce the story to a new group of readers.

The panels are beautifully illustrated and it brings the characters and setting to life in a whole new way. Close ups of both Katsa and Po show their eyes to great effect and there are some great fight scene sequences. The book is still narrated by Katsa and boxes give us her internal thoughts. All the story is there, just as I remember it and it perfectly captures the plot and essence of the story, while focusing on the action and growing relationship of trust between Katsa and Po.

A beautiful graphic novel version of a beloved novel. I can’t wait to share this one with my fantasy and graphic novel lovers alike.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Young adult graphic novel.

Genre: Fantasy.

Themes: Magic powers, mind control, fighting, kidnapping, romance, royalty, assassins.

Reading age guide: Ages 13 and up.

Advisory: Violence: death, murder, assassination, blood, injuries, references to harming animals (not shown) and references to adult male harming female children (not shown). Fade to black scene with sexual references.

Published: 16 November 2021 by Etch/Clarion Books.

Format: Hardcover, paperback, ebook. 272 pages.

ISBN: 9780358250470

Find it on Goodreads