Eh. I pooped out on this about 2/3 of the way through but still finished it. A bit angsty and rather long, but I do like Bigby and Snow.
I don’t really love the unhinged lady baddie motif, though. With a diabolical male handler, using her as a weapon.
Blah. ( )

I honestly think this is one of the best Fables spin-offs. Loved Bloody Mary's character and was happy with her origin story. This book does add characters not in the game nor the original Fables books. The Knave of Hearts play a big rule in this and kind of expands Wonderlands story in the Fables universe. This, like the game, do leave me a little confused though. Might have to replay the game again soon and still waiting for a second season of the game as well. Either way I was as happy with this book as I was with the game. ( )

Okay, so I was kind of right... Crane was behind some of the drama that began in the last book, but it goes so much deeper than that. The mastermind behind it all is the Crooked Man (an interesting character if I ever saw one), but the real problem isn't just his criminal empire which ranges from prostitution to loansharking to murder. The real problem is Fabletown itself; no society functions entirely without rules and safeguards, and an integral part of most functional modern-day societies is a social security net that distributes wealth so that everyone has a reasonable quality of life (even if it doesn't work entirely, obviously). This kind of concept is entirely foreign to the residents of Fabletown, who largely come from very classist systems (often feudal, sometimes even more hierarchical) where the rich have little to no formal responsibility to care for the poor. The central theme of the book is obviously much more than a 2 volume series can handle (much less a video game), but I think it serves its purpose to get readers thinking about some of the political goings on in the Fables community. Willingham did not create a fairytale series that was all peaches and cream, afterall, so the writers' focus puts this series squarely in line with the original themes - bravo! ( )

Felt like the art changed and Bigby got blockier, but I don't feel like going back to check.

The second half didn't feel as strong as the first. Much less action, weaker dialogue. Some really, really dumb mistakes by characters that should know better.

I know the series/setting is supposed to be really dark but the ending to this really comes off as a massive 'fuck you.' ( )

I tried to read the second volume and couldn't finish it. It was so long winded and I wanted it to be over already. There was a side story about some people I knew nothing about and I'm sure by the end of the book it would've explained the connection to the major characters but I wasn't willing to read it all to find out the connection. This one fell flat for me.