Um. Wow.

While the previous volume in the Finder series gave me a small case of culture shock, this volume was all of the culture and none of the shock. The non-linear story was far less jarring now that I knew what to look for (for instance, Jaeger's tattoo fading, his hair growing, the different body shape of Brig, etc.) and it was easier to understand now that the initial introductions are all complete.

The artwork is gorgeous, the story engaging, and even moreso - I find myself thinking about the world that it inhabits. I'm very curious about the next volume, King of Cats, because the Nyima from the first volume greatly intrigued me.

The more I read of this series the more I want to immerse myself within the world. Speed has really created something worth diving into. ( )

http://lampbane.livejournal.com/596177.html

"I appreciate what she's doing here, building this complex world with all these weird ideas thrown in there, interacting and melding and creating this place where I'm not entirely sure what is what. And that's the problem here—only McNeil really knows because it came out of her head, after all. Characters and situations are presented that don't entirely gel, and maybe on a re-read they might make sense, or after reading more of the story they might make sense (which became apparent as I continued on) but on a first read it is terribly disconcerting. And while I can forgive that because some of the concepts are interesting, what I can't forgive is that I had to read the endnotes to understand some of the things that happened in the books. Things that should have been self-evident from the dialog, narration, and artwork.

The artwork is nice. A little static, but it's not an action comic so it doesn't harm the flow. I think it would look better in color, but that would make the trades cost more." ( )